A Change of Gait
by Wildeve of the Heath
Summary: Eren loses his horse during an expedition so he has to ride with Levi. Eren's a bit delirious and feverish from coming out of his titan form and decides to secretly give Levi a hand job while their squad rides back to the Scouting Legion HQ. The fallout afterwards may lead to the answers mankind needs. [ORIGINALLY SNK MEME KINK FILL], NO LONGER A ONE SHOT
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**UPDATE 8/17/13:** I am Wildeve of the Heath, I have been told that people are taking this SnK fan fic and reblogging it on tumblr without my permission or knowing...guys, not cool. If any of you SnK fans see any of my fics reblogged (even if it is giving a link and credit), please notify me. I understand that this story had caught your eye but please, tell me that you're posting this story elsewhere.

Fan art is welcomed, just let me know if you made it. Ways to contact me about anything will be posted on my profile on this account. Anyway, let me accentuate this here:

**THIS ACCOUNT IS THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR, THIS STORY IS THE ORIGINAL STORY.  
I AM WILDEVE OF THE HEATH.**

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Change of Gait

Eren lost his horse during an expedition so he has to ride with Levi. Eren's a bit delirious and feverish from coming out of his titan form and decides to secretly give Levi a hand job while their squad rides back to the Scouting Legion HQ.

ONE-SHOT, SLASH

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**SnK Kink Fill: Eren/Levi - Eren gives Levi a handjob while horse riding (dubcon)**

**Prompt: **Eren lost his horse during an expedition so he has to ride with Levi. Eren's a bit delirious and feverish from coming out of his titan form and decides to secretly give Levi a hand job while their squad rides back to the Scouting Legion HQ. Levi has a strong sense of pride and privacy, and being surrounded by people, says nothing. But he is clearly pissed (and horny) during their ride and his punishment to Eren when they return to HQ is completely up to the writer.

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"His name is Noir," Levi stated, hands holding the a rein.

Eren wearily nodded as he looked up.

The horse Levi owned stood at a good sixteen hands and, quite comically, easily towered over Levi's small stature. With a coat as black as night, the stallion's disposition foiled Levi's as he rubbed his head against Eren's shoulder affectionately, nickering at meeting someone knew. His head was shaped strongly, its haunches were muscular, and his hooves were the size of dinner plates.

Eren had seen this horse before, both out in the field and at base behind the comforts of Wall Rose. Numerous times he had watched Levi command (with just a few cues) the horse to do take intricate steps and perform various tricks; from the piaffe to the levade, the horse bent to Levi's will all too easily.

A horse of this caliber could only mean that he was attained from the King's personal stock, raised to be both strong and gentle in the front lines. As a Lance Corporal, ranks do come with its perks. The only other person to have a piece of the King's horses was Erwin, and that was just by rank as well.

Noir pawed the moist earth impatiently.

The steam from the decaying corpse of Eren's Titan form laid a few meters away. Unfortunately, the boy had lost his bay horse due to the poor animal spooking too much; he tried several times to whistle for his bay, no horse came. At the time, Levi had placed his effort into retrieving Eren, hence his inability to chase after the boy's horse.

"Get on," Levi instructed,"I don't have time to bullshit."

Eren, giving a dazed look, simply nodded and went to the left of Noir.

He pushed one foot through the stirrup and then hoisted himself on. He scooted over the cantle of Levi's saddle and wanted for Levi himself to mount on. The Corporal murmured an insult of "that stupid horse of his" as he pulled himself on.

The others were beginning to regroup in front of them as they had stood guard for the retrieval of Eren.

"I got him!" He called out.

Hooves thundered behind the smoking carcass, soon enough, horses came galloping from the thicket. Each steed carried a rider garbed in green, they blurred all around him, some bringing their horses into tight circles and stopping for a brief moment. Levi had nearly forgotten Eren was behind him, but that was until he felt the Titan-shift's hands rest at his waist.

"Don't fucking throw me off balance," Levi warned.

"No, no I won't," Eren told him distantly.

_'The fuck is wrong with him?'_

"Corporal!" Petra exclaimed as she trotted to his side atop her palomino, she was stationed with Erwin elsewhere but had arrived to his Squad. "Erwin's ordered a retreat, we're regrouping to the East."

With that, tongues clicked and horses were spurred to follow Petra as she lead them out of the forest and into a field. Levi stood a bit in his stirrups as his horse pounded the ground with such a force that it made Eren wrap his arms completely around Levi's waits. He wouldn't have minded, he had this happen before with Hanji, with Petra, even Erwin, when horses were unavailable, but this time, a red light flashed.

Eren's wrist occasionally "brushed" into Levi's crotch, causing the Corporal's eye to twitch in annoyance.

This went on for two kilometers until they reached the rest of the Formation. Only when they reached the company of others did Eren's hands return to Levi's waist.

Erwin addressed those who were arriving and those who had already came. This was a retreat and they were finally heading home.

Soon, Levi found himself surrounded by other Scouts. It was typical, after a mission, that they would come together and coagulate every once in a while. Eren hadn't spoken a word since Levi's warning and, awkwardly enough, hadn't removed his hands from Levi's waist.

"We're at a walk, you don't have to hold me, brat," Levi huffed out, getting irritated by the unnecessary contact.

No response.

Sighing, Levi glanced around. None of the surrounding Scouts had horses to spare.

Noir snorted loudly, his barrel puffing a bit from this. His languid chewing on the bit told Levi that he was content of where they were. Levi decided to take matters into his own hands. He tied off the reins at the horn of his saddle so that he could attempt to remove Eren's hands from his waist.

"Hey, release me," he hissed, though it felt like the boy had magically glued his fingers to his waist. Levi's hands began to claw at the back of Eren's hands, but he seemed to not budge.

Only when he dug an unintentional nail into his skin did Eren lean forth to whisper heatedly into his ear,"Will do, sir."

"What-?"

Eren's right hand traveled to his crotch, only this time, pressing his palm against him. Levi tried to squirm away from him, only a little bit to avoid any odd looks. It appeared that everyone was looking ahead, the desire to go home was stronger than the need to socialize.

Then the kid fucking rubs his palm against the thin cloth of his slacks. He could feel his fingers prod against his balls, almost tickling him and yet making him grow heated so suddenly. Levi's hands immediately reached for the reins to grasp something.

"Eren," he sharply warns, making his voice low enough for him to hear.

If he turned his head, he would probably see Eren smirking devilishly, for his voice matched the expression. "Yes?"

"You know what I mean."

Eren's other hand left his waist to pull down Levi's cloak; he tugged until it was low enough to cover his ministrations. Levi tried to shrug him off but the younger one's arms were tucked under his; the joints of his elbows locked them him place. As he tried to shuffle away, Eren's hands became more daring.

"Don't you fucking-"

But a pair of deft fingers unzipped his pants.

"-Eren, if you fucking touch-"

A sinister, hair raising chuckle came from Eren as his fingers went in to fondle around, kneading curiously.

_'Is he fucking high?'_

His fingers brushed against his hair, then traveled lower, finding his length.

"-fuck you."

Levi could feel something stirring within him in the bottom of his stomach. He inhaled sharply at the contact of warm fingers toying with his shaft. He could feel Eren's ring and pinkie fingers alternatively grasp and stroke with his index and middle fingers, his thumb was teasingly rubbing against the top. Back and forth, back and forth.

Noir stumbled over something, causing Eren to jerk his hand away at the sudden movement. Unfortunately, he managed to take Levi's length in the process.

"I've been wondering how much you've been packing down there," Eren whispered into Levi's ear. He pulled away and sat lazily atop the horse's hip. Meanwhile, both his hands set to work, feeling and fondling against Levi. He unexpectedly wrapped his fingers around him. Involuntarily, his cock twitched at the feeling. "I can't wait to get home."

_'Son of a bitch is trying to pass this as a normal conversation...'_

Levi bit his tongue when he felt blood rush all the way down there. The damn kid's hand gave a dragging stroke up to the tip, from there, he went back down. The friction was horrid, making Levi fidget a bit until Eren figured to be a bit more gentler; his hand eased its grip so that his skin gave feather touches, bringing a tickling sensation once again.

He gave no response to Eren. Instead, he looked ahead of his horse's ears, eyes fixated on the horizon, trying to think of anything but-

Eren's thumb suddenly brushed over the tip of him. Levi stiffened in his seat, and he grew stiff down there as well.

"Imagine a nice, cozy room," Eren rambled dreamily with a slight hum.

He choked down a groan when Eren grasped him a bit harder.

"A warm bed by the fire..."

Levi's mind slipped into his suggestions. He closed his eyes for a moment to see his own pristine room. The idea of a bed, heated already by fire, was a wet dream for his aching back. He had to agree to Eren on that part, the comforts of home was definitely be a welcome thought.

Eren's voice lowered to Levi once again. "...a body _needlessly fucking into you_."

And then he pictured Eren atop of him, his body looming over his own. Wait, why is he topping-

_'Shit.'_

He was somewhat relieved that he didn't have to face the strain of being suffocated by his pants. However, he was going to kill Eren when they got back. They were an hour away from home, he could see the edge of Wall Rose just a few miles ahead. This was going to be an agonizing ride. He felt Eren lean over and rest his head against his shoulder.

From an ordinary viewpoint, the younger Scout appeared to be sleeping.

It grew quiet between them but his back grew tense. Eren's fingers began to stroke him, the friction somehow lessening due to sweat that had suddenly accumulated. It was a crude lubricant but one that Levi secretly thanked the gods for; at least it would quicken the process.

Levi straggled down a moan when Eren began, once again, to alternate between pumping and stroking him. He almost lost his mind when Eren's other hand reached below him into the zipper and fondled with his balls, rolling them gently between his fingers. Consciously, his eyes rolled to the back of his head at the sudden pleasure. Eren was back to stroking him once more.

He accidentally slipped out a groan. When one head turned, he forced out a cough to hide it. Attention was drawn away.

His eyes drifted though he kept his riding position.

He saw Petra two horse lengths away. Elsewhere, Mike was ahead of him. To the right, directly beside him, was, god forbid, Hanji. Oh shit, it was Hanji.

_'No, no, no, no. Why the fuck is she here?'_

How could he have not noticed her? She hadn't noticed him too, hell, she was looking the other way. If she decided to strike up a conversation, Levi would end up having to speak, and if he spoke, he was sure that his voice would tremble. He wanted to avoid her at all cost...at all cost.

His calves pressed against Noir. Slowly, the horse broke into a trot, Eren's hand pulled away from his balls. It certainly helped get away from her but the bumpiness of Noir's jog forced Levi to post in order to avoid bouncing about. Other riders did a side-pass when they heard him trotting, though they didn't pay mind to him.

However, as he posted in his seat, his hips began to unintentionally thrust into Eren's hand; the younger one made a tight ring that provided the most wonderful friction. His hips went up and down, typically they would bump against the pommel but this time, he was going against Eren's hand. He bit hit lip to stifle a groan once more. Slowly, and regrettably, he slowed Noir down to a walk.

While his hips had ceased, Eren took the liberty to pump him. It wasn't as careful as before, it was rougher, but not enough to make his cloak flutter at his waist. Just a few more strokes and then-

Another horse came trotting in from behind. He heard the damn woman behind him say,"Levi! Didn't notice you there!"

_'Fuck you, Hanji.'_

He broke away from the main group, and instead, took to trotting alongside the main line. He was back to posting and thrusting into Eren's hand. Behind him, Hanji was trotting as well, trying to catch up, but her sorrel was just a beat too short from the longer strides of Noir. Eren no longer rested his head on Levi's shoulder as he balanced himself along with the horse.

"Can't she watch?" Eren teasingly murmured.

_'Fuck you, Eren.'_

Again, he ignored him with a grimace though he bit his tongue to prevent another, oncoming groan.

He could only focus on two things; where the fuck he's going and the pleasurable friction caused by Eren. Every so often, that ring of fingers would tighten, his thumb would flick at his slit, and those fingers would just stroke even harder. As Noir trotted, his cloak fluttered a bit, permitting Eren to take the chance to harshly stroke him with a vigorous effort.

The coil had been tightening the entire time, he wanted to let it loose before people noticed anything.

"Levi!"

He could hear Hanji going into a canter to keep up with him.

"Eren, finish this bullshit," he uttered as some looked up to see the Corporal breeze by.

Eren took the command to heart. It was becoming too much. He forced Noir to a walk once again, his breath was caught in his throat. He took a sharp breath of air as he tightened his muscles, he grew rigid and, thankfully, Eren had done enough to give him the release he desperately needed to be done with it. He came against his cloak, the creamy thickness spluttered against the green cloth, catching it and preventing it from leaking over to the suede of the saddle.

He let out a content sigh by the time Hanji arrived, astride by his right once more.

"What's up with you?" She questioned, head tilting. Eren's hand withdrew from Levi's still throbbing-but-now-softening member, he brought it back to his waist.

Levi spoke with a slightly hoarse voice,"I couldn't stand the stench of you."

"Really? I didn't touch Titans today," she said, ignorant of the torture he had to put up with. At least he hoped she was, the woman can pick up on one too many things too easily.

Before she could speak once more, he blurted and pointed to the right,"Look, an abnormal."

Hanji's head turned on the dime. With that chance, Eren tucked Levi back into his pants and even zipped him up. Once more, he brought those accursed hands back to Levi's waist. Being sure that they were no longer trotting, Eren rested his head against Levi's shoulder. Hanji, meanwhile, found no Titans and faced Levi.

"Ugh, I hate it when you do that to me, you get me excited for nothing," she whined.

Levi rolled his eyes at her. His body was still sporadic from Eren's touch, he tried to still himself as he tightened his hold on the reins. When they returned, he was sure to give Eren a punishment, a strong punishment. Discipline works best when it's physically done, he was sure to keep the brat from touching him once more after he shows him what being bold means.

-...-

They arrived at HQ by sun down. Eren had taken to falling asleep. He was a hard sleeper to awaken, thus, Levi harshly elbowed him, snapping,"Wake the fuck up."

Eren's head flew off of Levi's shoulder. Eyes were wide in alarm as Noir languidly walked onto the complex, he yawned while the horse was halted. Levi dismounted first, then Eren. He shoved the reins into Eren's chest, the boy looked confused, bewildered at the sudden anger of the Corporal. He took the reins nonetheless, but remained shocked.

"You," Levi began, he seemed enraged at something (his tone was dangerous) yet Eren could hardly place a tongue on it to explain why. "You are to report to my room by the end of two hours."

"Um...sir?" He asked slowly.

But without offering another word, Levi stormed away, leaving Eren to stand with Noir, confounded by the change of behavior.

Hanji trotted her horse by and gave a brief explanation, saying,"You were jerking him off on his horse, now he's gonna ride you bareback and raw," as she broke into a fit of laughter. She passed by, eliciting a much more perplexed look from him.

"I did...what?"

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A/N: Posting is a riding technique when you move your hips in time with the horse's trot to avoid bouncing around on its back, it's an automatic thing to do for most riders.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

A/N: Due to the high demand for the original one shot, I have decided to make it into a story. Enjoy

**UPDATE 8/17/13:** I will be blunt. I was editing things, somehow I fucked this story over by uploading the wrong chapter to the original Chapter 2 save file. Writing for Chapter 7 will be backed up as I will be busy rewriting Chapter 2. I apologize for this and my error in mismatching contents within the documents. As this will be a revision of Chapter 2, it will not be as accurate as the original. The plot will be the same but the actions and dialogue will differ (those who had read it before will see a drastic change). Sorry, folks, but we're all human, we fuck up sometimes.

As this is a rewrite, this is the best I could do. It's not as good as the original, but the plot is the same.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Mikasa asked for what appeared to be the fourth time that evening.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm just tired," he answered.

Eren picked away at his mashed potato. Certainly, he ate but only after the second time when she asked that question only to not worry her further. However, he only consumed half of his plate, his stomach oddly not feeling the need to be hungry. To his right he saw Sasha eying his meal as she intently chewed on her bread. Without even asking her if she wanted it (it was too obvious), he pushed his plate to her and she gratefully took her, easily consuming what he had.

The rest of the evening was simple chattering. The mission today had been tiresome with the casualties somehow being at an all time low. Sure, they had lost men here and there, some were squished to death, most were eaten, and a few horses had escaped and were unable to return at the call of their whistles. Overall, Eren was relived that his friends came back alive.

Beside Sasha was Christa, then Ymir.

The young blonde came Sasha her food, causing her to be dubbed a goddess. Ymir smirked at her antic and looked on. Across the mess hall, three tables down Jean was pouring over papers, most likely his field reports and reflection for the day. Reiner and Bertolt were nowhere to be found, neither was Connie, but it didn't matter. They were alive and well, he was more than happy to see all of them this way.

However, his thoughts were occupied on Levi. He thought of his sudden, verbal lashing earlier. He was confused. He had spent a few weeks with him and had grown accustomed to his cold, distant personality; to have him react to something he didn't do bewildered him. His pursuit of Hanji and her evasive skills didn't help uncover the mystery of what passed between him and Levi.

"Armin, what time is it?" Eren asked, bracing his arms against the edge of the table.

Armin tore his eyes away from the book and reached to his pocket to pull out a pocket watch. He flicked open the cover and read it aloud,"It's around 2000."

Eren got up.

"Where are you going?" Mikasa said, almost getting up as well but Eren placed a hand to her shoulder to keep her down.

"I have something to do."

Without leaving no room for an explanation, he left her with Armin.

-...-

He knocked on his door. Once, no answer. Second, none came. At the third, Levi's face broke through the crack and door to check who it was, then opened it wider. "Get in."

Eren stepped in cautiously, waiting for whatever Hanji described earlier.

When he entered the room, he found it to be inhumanly clean, so stunningly clean that even the author could not find words to describe it. It was that inhuman. As his gaze drifted around, he saw Levi take a set of leather strips from a broken rein from his desk. Eren closed the door behind him as he said,"You wanted to see me, sir-"

"Take off your boots, I just cleaned the place," Levi said with a hint of spite. Eren nodded, trying to figure out what he had done to warrant a summoning to the Corporal's room. He bent to one knee and undid a buckle, then slid one boot off. He worked on the other boot when Levi approached him from behind. Just as he had gotten his other boot off, Levi instructed him,"Stay like that with your hands behind your back."

He was kneeling on one leg, his hands hesitantly went behind his back, only to be snagged by the leather strips and bound together.

Levi then shoved him to the center of the room.

"Sir!" Eren yelped out, unsuspecting of this. Perhaps this was the punishment Hanji meant. Eren landed on his side, facing the door and Levi. He saw the man's leg go up, then come crashing down at him, stomping him squarely in the jaw; he was fazed by it, utterly confused as to why he was being stepped on. It was only once, then Levi bent down to grab a handful of Eren's hair to lift him up.

"Why did you touch me?" Levi asked, voice dangerous.

He looked up at him, shocked. "I don't know what you're talking about-"

He was hit once more, this time, stepped on. His head bounced against the floor bit it simply didn't stop there. He was met with Levi's boot, with each blow, Levi spoke a word,"Why. Did. You. Touch. Me."

He busted something in his mouth, the pain shot through him as he tasted blood. However, it ebbed away as his powers took hold to mend the new wound. He pleaded out to Levi, blurting out,"I don't know what I did! Why can't you believe me? Did you preach to me once that you should trust your comrades? If I should trust you, it should apply for you to do the same with me!"

Levi's boot hung in the air for a moment.

When he was sure he wouldn't receive a beating, Eren continued,"I don't know what I did...whatever it was, I'm sorry."

A splotch of blood formed on the floor. Levi had a considerate look in his eye, but just before he brought his boot down, the door flew open to reveal Hanji. "Hey, Levi, is Eren in here? Mikasa said- oh."

Her eyes were instantly drawn to Eren being bound on the floor. A smile crept over her face as she realized,, in her own mind, what was happening.

"Always thought you were into kinky shit," she said, giddy at the sight.

Levi delivered the kick anyway, going for Eren's jaw, eliciting a cry of pain from him. "Does this count as pleasure?"

"Now you're just abusing him," she replied,"anyway, came by, I wanted to speak to Eren."

"You could have talked to me earlier!" Eren shot at her, he was ignored.

"Bitch, can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" He brashly asked, glaring at her.

Hanji ignored him as she spoke out to Eren,"When you touched Levi's dick, what was it like? Was it as long as a horse or short as his height? ("Hanji," Levi warned.) And the width, would you describe him as being as thick as a gas tank or thin as a pencil? Take your time- oh, and can you describe the color too? Does he have bulging veins? Is he smooth? Is he rough? Eren, you gotta say something."

Eren's mouth hung open as a blush crept over his cheeks as his body recovered with vapor radiating from his mouth, unknowing of what to answer or even think that he would have the audacity to touch such a part of Levi. "W-what!? No, I didn't touch him like that! This is what it's all about? Oh my god, I wouldn't do that to him! I swear!"

But Levi had taken action, stepping over to her with an extra rein at the ready. At the sight of the leather, Hanji bolted out the the scene. In turn, Levi slammed the door.

It was quiet between them when he turned to look at Eren. The vapor had stopped. The pain was gone.

He laid there, anxious. "I never touched you."

Levi stared at him, eyes flickering to and fro, trying to decide what to do next. After a moment, he made up his mind, he reached over to his desk for his letter opener; he then knelt behind Eren. The small knife descended to his wrists, undoing the strips of leather to set him free. With both hands unbound, Levi tossed the knife into the cup and then went to his bed, sitting there oddly relaxed.

"Come," he simply said as Eren wiped away a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

Eren drew close to him, sitting at his feet. Levi's legs suddenly opened, he propped himself by bracing his hands back against the mattress.

"Prove it," he said simply.

Eren couldn't help but dumbly ask,"Excuse me?"

"Prove that you didn't touch me. I'm ordering you to prove it," he repeated.

It was an order. An order is meant to be followed through and properly executed. He sat there, staring at his crotch. He would be touching a man. He tried to think of this as a mutual exercise, something that he could just do and be done with it. He was taught to do as he said, regardless of how immoral anything would be.

But what good would touching him prove anything?

"Sir, I-"

"Give me your hand," Levi ordered, and Eren did so. Holding to the wrist, he forced it to that place. Eren tried to draw back but Levi's grip was stronger, even if he started to fight, the man would snap it in half out of frustration for disobedience. Eren took the cue, he reluctantly nodded and undid the zipper and button to Levi's slacks.

When Eren complied, Levi relinquished his grip; the boy scooted closer to nestle himself on the floor between his knees. Once his slacks were undone, Eren hesitantly reached in, feeling for him until he found him, taking his flaccid dick out into the open.

Hanji's questions ran through his mind. To answer them, Levi was quite intimidating for a man his size, it was surprising to see him. Eren kept a gentle hold on him, unknowing what to do. He sat there, staring, and then Jean suddenly crossed his mind.

During the training days, he caught Jean and Marco behind the barracks. He didn't bother them nor did he leave them, he only watched, entranced by how Jean handled the other boy. He saw that certain ways of stroking would get Marco riled up, he also took notice that his tongue would make the him keen; despite having arguments with Jean, Eren was careful to not bring up Marco in any way to him.

As Levi rested limp in his hand, Eren let his fingers rove over the skin, trying to see how he would react. The man, as though anticipating for Eren to go through with it, took in a sharp breath. Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around him; the traction was noticeable but he didn't stroke, only played with the tip. His thumb flicked over the slit a few times as his fingers danced around his shaft.

His other arm went to lean against his thigh to prop himself closer.

He glanced up at Levi to see him giving a soft glare, watching him intently. Eren brought his eyes back to his length and remembered how Jean made Marco have strong reactions. He cautiously brought his lips to the tip, his tongued peeked out to give a small lick.

In his hand, he felt Levi grow fairly hard at this. He did it again, but his tongue ran over the head.

"Nnng."

A small groan, surely he was doing something right.

Eren found it strange to actually be able to go through with this. At first he thought he would be revolted at doing such a thing to the Corporal, but the sound of his groan was something he was rather fond of hearing. Perhaps he could view this more than being a gesture issued by order; imagine having mankind's strongest soldier show a bit of weakness. Without warning him, he licked the bottom of his length, his tongue coating that oat with saliva.

Levi shuddered.

"Fuck..."

For once, Eren felt he had some hold over him.

His tongue ran back up to the tip, mimicking what he had seen Jean do.

His mouth opened and he took only his head. The tip of his tongue played a bit with the slit as he noticed Levi shift around on his bed. He felt a pair of hands entangle themselves into his hair. For a moment, he thought Levi would pull him away but, instead, he found himself being drawn closer. Levi gave a small thrust; both signs were taken to mind.

He lowered his head, bringing Levi deeper into his mouth. Only half of him could go in before touching the back of his throat. Eren took the chance to use his tongue to tickle the underside and coat more saliva around him before feeling Levi pull his hair back to tell him to go back to the tip. Eren finally understood it and took him back in.

He let the cock slide in and out of his mouth a few times, then released him so that he could run his tongue up and down.

By then, Levi had gotten firm as well as heated, Eren could feel a bit of palpitation with his muscle. His other hand, free, went to his balls, wondering what he would do if he touched there. The man let out a loud groan at being rolled between his fingers. Coupling that with his mouth, Levi began to give small thrusts. Eren swallowed him once more.

Levi let out a long, drawn out groan as though he were relieved about something. His hands gripped Eren hair even tighter.

The way he reacted, his voice, his convulsing body, he was under Eren's care; he grew to like having such a power over him. It was amazing to see Levi reduced this way, to show weakness to pleasure. Eventually, he grew rigid when Eren had taken him to the back of his throat. He cursed out,"Shit..." as he began to shudder, letting out another moan.

Eren continued on until the man erupted in his mouth, forcing most of it down his throat; somehow he thrust too hard, hitting something that made Eren splutter and gag. He released Levi as he still leaked more of the hot substance, Eren could only swallow what he could as he went to the floor, wheezing,"I...I did it!"

Some of it splattered to the ground, even coming from Eren's mouth. He coughed as Levi tossed a cloth down to him, Eren used it to wipe his mouth and then the floor as his other hand held his burning throat.

When he cleaned what he could, Levi's voice sharply told him,"Get out."

What did he do wrong? Wasn't the man enjoying it?

He didn't ask how he did or how Levi felt, the task was done and, with a matter like this, he figured it would be best to leave it unsaid until he was called upon to speak privately. Eren did as he was told, not even taking his boots.

-...-

He had just finished his first glass of vine. Typically, after a mission, he would unwind and drink. This time, the mission was successful and went off without a hitch, he decided to reward himself with the finest bottle.

It was at the stroke of 2100 that Hanji bounded into his office with the broadest grin he had seen for the first time in weeks.

That particular smile that meant either one of two things: she made some form of advancement in her research or she caught someone having sex. She had the uncanny habit of walking in on people, he had his own experiences to prove that. God forbid she came all this way to barge in and tell him of his subordinates' latest activities.

"You won't believe what I just discovered," she chimed, bouncing over to him, she sat herself at the edge of his desk. He brought his glass to his lips and gingerly sipped, his eyes flickering up at her, silently telling her to go on. "Eren suffers memory loss for a few hours after being released from his Titan form."

He finished his sip and lowered his glass, relieved it was something other than sex. He didn't know he would regret asking her before taking another drink,"Anything else?"

She blurted out too excitedly with her smile going further across her face as he tipped his head back,"Eren was giving a hand job to Levi atop Noir, the boy couldn't remember a single thing."

Erwin spluttered on his drink, he slammed the glass to the table and doused Hanji, covering her front with the maroon drink. He coughed as he let the words sink into him. This wasn't contributing to the fight against Titans, it was just her walking in on people fucking around again! Wasn't this the fourth time this month she reported someone having sexual activities?

As he cleared his throat, she told him,"Do you know what this suggests? What if he was meant to procreate after transforming into a Titan? With Eren's strong libido, we can-"

"Get out! A teenager's raging hormones isn't going to save humanity!" He gagged, getting up and taking her by her shoulders. He pushed her off his desk and started ushering her to the door. He wasn't going to deal with her right now, he was already languid enough to not even want to touch his papers.

Her feet prevented him from pushing her further, she dug her heels to the carpet, forcing him to begin to push away at her. She raved,"But imagine all the offspring Eren could produce, our own Titan-shifting army from his gene pool. A massive production of biologically organic weapons that can save us all in the midst of battle! Oh! And if they could carry us faster and further than horses, it'll be a great help to us!"

He managed to force her to the door, throwing it open as she turned to face him. Her hands grabbed onto the door frame, locking her in place.

Erwin exasperatedly explained,"Hanji, the boy is not a stallion up for breeding. Even if I try to run this through the King for the necessary funds to do this, he and the noblemen would think it's a ridiculous idea. Hell, they may even cut off funds for proposing such an idea." He wanted her to go, hearing this from her, of all people, was the last thing he needed. "It may as well backfire-"

"It won't backfire and even without the King's support, I'll go through with it myself!" She countered sharply.

"You're not having sex with the kid," he deadpanned her.

"...I want Titan children.."

"You've got to be kidding me."

But her expression became serious. He seen that look before.

"...oh god, you're not kidding."

As they stood there in silence, a long, drawn out moan came from below them. He raised an eyebrow as she said,"Levi's fucking him right now. Why can't I?"

Only he and Hanji were well aware of Levi's preferences in...ahem, humans. It was a quiet knowledge that neither of them openly spoke of though Hanji would let a joke slip every once in a while. Erwin had no problem if a relationship formed between Eren and Levi whether it would be emotional or physical, it wasn't in his place to say anything against it nor did he interfere with any of the affairs amongst his soldiers.

Hanji, however, was a woman. Women get pregnant. That's just how it is most of them time. She was a needed member of the Recon Corps, the top researcher and possibly one of the few specialists humanity can possibly offer. To have her go on leave to experiment on herself would be a blow to everyone, especially now of all times. Could this had been any other person, he would have easily said yes.

Unfortunately, there was just one thing about Hanji.

He knew the woman wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, especially when it came to unorthodox procedures in her experiments. More than half the shit she pulls off should have killed her by now, even at time he had bets with Levi to see if she would sustain some injury. His mind drifted to the thought of her relentless pursuits for his consent.

A thought came back from a few years ago that she had became pissed off beyond belief and shoved a test tube up someone's ass from Petra's squad. It went up far enough to turn him queer. The poor fellow was consumed the following week but Erwin was slightly grateful as he was subjected to the man's sexual advances. He sighed and leaned his head against the frame, just above Hanji's hand.

He ran a hand over his face, his fingers running his eyes to stay in focus with her. As another moan came out from below; he wanted her to leave, and with his dazed state right now she may even have the chance to wedge a rest tube into his ass. He rolled his eyes and gave in,"Fine, I grant you...permission to touch Eren in any way you see fit, just don't scar him for life..."

She smiled once again, that glowering look suddenly gone.

The noise rising from below abruptly stopped.

-...-

Eren drew a bucket up from the well, his hands trembling with uncertainty and somewhat great desperation. The quiet night greeted him with crickets chirping about the courtyard, he hastily pulled on the rope until the wooden panels came to the light of the torches. He didn't bother to untie the rope as he settled the bucket at the rim of the well.

Mike approached him with his own bucket at hand, stopping by his side as the boy brought water to his lips and rinsed his mouth repeatedly.

"Evening, Eren," the elder Scout addressed him as he waited for Eren to untie the rope.

"Evening, Mike," he uttered when he spat out the water.

Eren reached over to the bucket, his mouth by his hand as he cupped the water. He paused when Mike leaned by him, his nose getting to close to his hair.

"Can you not?" Eren asked wearily, trying to scoot away from him, but Mike rounded by, taking in more of whatever the scent had caught on to him. After a moment, he drew back and stared down curiously at the boy.

"You smell like Levi," he bluntly stated.

Eren's eyes grew wide at that. Immediately, he stepped away, his bare feet padding against the stone masonry of the courtyard. His bucket, no longer held and balanced, tumbled into the well as he sprinted away into the building, leaving Mike in wonder at his sudden behavior.

"...and of sex..." Mike added more to himself.

It didn't take an idiot to put two and two together. Whatever happened may had frightened the boy, but he wasn't going to bother to ask, it wasn't in his place to mingle with the affairs between others, especially one with the Corporal.

As he took the rope that was tied off to the post near the well, he was half-expecting Hanji to show up out of nowhere as she was the sort of person to walk in on private moments, no doubt she'd be trying to follow the boy to inquire about his latest activities.

Mike was left undisturbed. He simply shrugged to himself and took a hand at the rope, hauling water back to the surface.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

A/N: I'll be taking a break from "Unfettered" to write this for you guys since you like it more, ha ha. Leave reviews, it helps me keep going.

* * *

He was quietly sipping tea in the mess hall.

He had just awoken, his body satisfied from the night before though his thoughts were lost in Eren's touch.

The boy was truly telling him the truth. He was hesitant and, most notably, virgin to the ways of pleasuring the body. All in all, he did an adequate job but there was a notable difference between his normal and dazed state. Unlike the night before, an Eren fresh out of a Titan's body was experienced, intimidating, and irritatingly unrelenting, touching him in all the shockingly right ways and bringing him to a high too fast for his mind to process.

To contrast this, the calmer Eren from last night took his sweet, innocent, fucking time.

Levi sipped more of his hot beverage.

_'He could do a bit better-'_

"Levi!"

He choked on his tea at the sound. He coughed and tried to clear his throat.

Hanji had thought it fun to sneak up on him. She rounded around and smoothly slid into the chair next to him. As he wiped his mouth, she folded her hands on the table as she had that stupid smile that made him want to smack her.

He noticed she was wearing her Gear but he payed no mind to it after a moment.

_'Fuck you.'_

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't hit you," he grumbled. His mind traced back to when she was asking Eren those degrading questions regarding his encounter with his dick; obviously, she knew what transpired on the journey home. Unpleasant thoughts came over him, his fingers were twitching but holding back to hear her.

"Well," she began,"I heard you having fun with Eren last night. Never knew you had a thing for playing on top of Noir-"

"It was an inappropriate time and place," he deadpanned her.

"Oh, so you do have a thing for him, huh?"

Levi couldn't argue with her. She was the only one, apart from Erwin and several others, who knew of his preference when it came to partners. He didn't appreciate the sudden advancement from yesterday's trip, he wasn't prepared nor was he aware; he wasn't the kind to be caught off guard, much less in the eyes of his soldiers. Levi was, in fact, a man of a strong libido...but what sort of an example of a Lance Corporal would he be if he exhibited his sexual prowess before his subordinates?

God forbid soldiers decide to fuck while being on a mission.

At least Hanji didn't blurt it out; he cringed at thinking of how she would point and say,**"HEY, LOOK, EREN'S WANKING LEVI ON NOIR!"**

He preferred to do such acts in the privacy of his room. HIS room, nowhere else; if he traveled, then he would use his private quarters. He felt secure in his own domain as he wasn't comfortable with sex anywhere outside. But that was his own thing.

Her question did, indeed, have a given answer. Levi had some thoughts about Eren, just one of those things in which you daydream about how situations in life (or sex in Levi's case) would play out. What else can you think of when you had free time on your hands? Hanji once stated it was human nature to think of sex...

"I could see him as a toy until I have to kill him, yes," he answered, now relaxing to sip at his tea.

Hanji gave a near frown. "You don't like him?"

"Do I have to?" He shot back at her.

She didn't say anything.

He understood why.

Over the years, they had lost many of their comrades. All of Levi's past partners had perished in the fight against those hideous monsters, by now, he had tucked away their names to the back of his mind.

Unlike them, Eren can't die.

Or, at least, they hadn't found a way he could. Hanji probably might but she hadn't done much to see what he could do.

She picked herself up and gave a different kind of smile, a warming one that was meant to be comforting, but he returned her with a glare. "I thought you'd notice that, that's why I'm here right now. The following experiments I've planned out are meant to...interact with Eren certain ways. I've observed his libido yesterday on Noir (very hot by the way), and couldn't help but see that he was in a trance-like state..."

She paused. He gestured with his head for her to continue.

"...go on-"

"...this only happened after he was removed from his Titan. Did he seem off to you when you spoke to him at first?"

Levi thought carefully.

_"Get on," Levi instructed,"I don't have time to bullshit."_

_Eren, giving a dazed look, simply nodded and went to the left of Noir._

"He seemed aloof, yes."

"I have a hypothesis...that Eren isn't Eren when he leaves his Titan. Eren is, what I'm going to call, Erotic Eren-" Levi choked again. "-and he will be driven by mankind's primal instinct; to satisfy his carnal desires for the first few hours. To add to that, he wouldn't remember what he did while being Erotic Eren."

As he cleared his throat once more, he straggled out,"Your point being?"

"I wish to perform sexual activities with Erotic Eren. The boy wouldn't remember what happened, you can keep whatever sentimental relationship you form with a normal Eren, and all will be good," she concluded.

He carefully considered her words, then surmised,"You...want to rape him while he's delusional." Technically, rape is defined by the lacking of consent; Eren wouldn't be in his right mind when he's in Hanji's coined phase 'Erotic State'. "You have a fucked up mind."

"Well, can I?" She inquired, ignoring the last sentence. "Besides, you and I have to figure out what drives Eren to be so horny after being in a Titan, then figure out how to calm him down...I mean, you wouldn't want him fucking Mikasa out on the field in front of everyone, would you? It'd be obscene, even for my taste. There's so many possibilities on what Erotic Eren can do, wouldn't you want to know?"

"This...weird- ("Erotic," Hanji corrected him) - Eren disregards the social standards that normal, unaroused people would know, he seems to be an exhibitionists of sorts as he asked why I wouldn't let you watch him fucking violate me in the middle of everyone."

Hanji squealed. "Ooooooh, he wanted me to see!? I was already watching anyway!"

"Yes, you said so, and you would have flipped shit if you interacted with him-"

"I would have!"

"So...I leave you in charge of dealing with..._Erotic_ Eren," he bitterly said the name.

She clapped and bounced in her seat, enthusiastic of doing whatever the fuck she wanted to do.

"If you're caught getting fucked in the middle of a crowd, that's not my problem," he said, getting up. He didn't want to listen to her planned escapades. He was lucky the mess hall was empty, he would dread if other people heard of this. His hand reached for the door, opening it and going into the hallway. It was usually at this time in the morning that he would check on Noir to ensure he was sound in health.

When he passed the barracks for the new Scouts, he ran into Eren in the hallway adjacent from the basement's stairs. It was much to his surprise to encounter him.

Upon seeing the Corporal, Eren tried to back away, but he called to him,"You, come with me."

Eren seemed hesitant to even approach him.

"It's an order."


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

A/N: To be honest...do you know how hard it is not to laugh when I type out Erotic Eren? Ha ha

Also, forgot the mention in the last chapter, Hanji is wearing her Gear during her morning meeting with Levi. I'm bending the rules a bit of SnK, then again, this is fan fiction, so what can you do, huh?

Thank you for all your support!

* * *

"I believe you entirely," Levi finally said when they made it outside to the stables.

Ever since their run-in at the hallway, Levi hadn't spoken. Eren kept a respectable distance from him, cautious of what the man would do. When he heard Levi say to him _'I believe you entirely'_, it took a moment for him to process it.

After last nights events, Eren had successfully hidden himself away in his room. Mikasa and Armin, thankfully, didn't visit him as they normally would, it gave him the privacy he needed to gather his bearings. He recounted everything that happened yesterday. It was a mission. He transformed. Everything went black. He woke up on Noir. He spent time untacking the horse. He chased Hanji for answers of what happened. He couldn't catch her. He gave up. He went to go eat dinner. Levi had told him to drop to his room. He gets trashed around. Hanji comes in. She asks for the size of Levi's dick then leaves. Said man orders him to suck his-

His mind blew up somewhere after stuttering.

He tried to think of pleasuring the Corporal as a task of sorts, a simple order. Yet...he questioned himself as to why he even touched him. Was this a growing feeling towards the man? A twisted form of affection? Eren didn't know why he even agreed to touch him at all. He always admired him, both him and Smith equally, but he just couldn't place a finger on the whole situation.

Perhaps he did like the Corporal more than he should. He'd been determined to ride by his side as a child, along with the rest of the Recon Corps. Well, he wasn't a child anymore.

Levi brought him to Noir.

The black stallion nickered, greeting them. Levi reached out to let his horse lick at his hand.

When Eren didn't say anything, Levi spoke once again,"I believe that you do not remember touching me while we were riding home. Hanji and I concluded that you are not the person we know after you leave the body of a Titan."

Eren craned his head to the side. "Excuse me?"

"The way you pleasure the flesh is different from both times," Levi said. For the first time, Eren couldn't help but notice the man was choosing his words carefully, as though he didn't want to say certain things as he blatantly would. This was a normal situation. He **touched** the man, after all. "As such, I forgive you from yesterday...and I would like to apologize for last night."

"Apologize, sir?" Eren asked, perplexed by this.

Levi had been acting strange. He wasn't being the man he was before the mission. But a glint of his usual persona returned when he said,"Look, if you don't want me to apologize for forcing you into giving me a blowjob, at least fake that you forgive me."

Noir's lip nipped at Levi's skin, making smacking sounds.

"Um," Eren began,"well, I guess so. It's just that, well, I sort of enjoyed what happened last night."

Levi's shoulders dropped. For the first time, he had found the man caught off guard with words. Even Eren was surprised that he let it slip from his mouth.

He stammered, trying to find the right words,"I...I mean, uh. Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be by your side and become a use to humanity. While I'm in the Recon Corps for an entirely different purpose now, I'm grateful I can work by you despite the fact that you can kill me at any, given moment. And...well, I'm not entirely bothered by what I did. It was a pleasure...?" He said the last part with uncertainty.

Levi stared hard at him, his expression seemingly unreadable. However, Eren could take a wild guess and say that he was trying to comprehend those words. It was, indeed, a strange situation.

The man withdrew his hand from Noir, then crossed them over. "Well then..."

He was look elsewhere.

Eren had the sudden audacity to say out loud,"Did I do anything wrong?"

He was referring to last night's performance.

"What? No, you did everything fine," Levi hastily told him, surprised by the question. His expression was still that same, glaring kind, though there was a sudden tint of pink. Was he blushing?

He didn't ask, they kept quiet for a moment.

"Now that's over with...I have things to do with Noir, you're dismissed," Levi said suddenly. He took the rope and untied it so that he could be in Noir's stall. He reached for a roped halter that hung nearby, then haltered his steed. Eren stepped away and allowed both the man and his horse to walk out; both were heading for the tack room and tie down.

Eren stood there, watching.

"Hey, you."

He jumped at the calling, he whirled his head to see Hanji hiding behind a hay bale. Was she listening in on them? He didn't see her, much less hear her. She must have followed them via other ways to reach him. She gave him a pleasant smile and rounded the bale to be by Eren.

She was wearing her Gear. They weren't going out on a mission or anything, he stared at her, skeptical about her attire.

"He didn't tell you about Erotic Eren?" She asked as though it were the most normal thing to ask. Since when did she ask or say anything normal? She sauntered by, gesturing him to follow.

"No, he didn't," he replied, though he was curious of asking who 'Erotic Eren' was, he was somewhat afraid to ask.

"Well, I'll try to explain. Y'see," she began,"after you were removed from your Titan, you get kinda...delusional, or so Levi placed it. You weren't yourself, in fact, you had an unsatisfiable appetite for sex-" He blushed at that. "-so you jerked off Levi on Noir. I didn't wanna tell you because I just had to wait and see if you truly suffered memory loss. Which you did, according to Levi-"

"So wait, he had me, um...touch him again to-"

"-to make sure for himself if you voluntarily or involuntarily wanted to do it," she finished for him.

It didn't make sense...simply because he couldn't remember if he did such an act on Noir. Levi suddenly came walking by, atop the said horse. He skipped out on brushing him, he apparently just threw on the saddle and bridled him. He didn't look over at them, only ahead, where he went out of the courtyard and into the vast land where their headquarters was set up.

"Anyway, according to Levi, there are two, distinct ways in which you please him. As a scientist, I wish to study you more."

They went out of the courtyard and sat on the stone wall just a little ways down the path; the metal of her Gear clattered against the stonework as she sat. From there, they watched Levi begin his work on Noir; in the distance, he was trotting him, warming him up for the upcoming exercise.

"How so?"

"I want to have sex with Erotic Eren, the person that you apparently can turn into."

His cheeks flushed, though out of embarrassment. First Levi, now Hanji, would the Commander be coming on to him soon as well?

"Uh, uh...uh-"

She slapped his shoulder playfully. "Don't worry, you won't remember _a thing_ if that's what you're worried about. Besides, it's only experimental-"

"W-won't you get pregnant?" He asked, scooting away from her.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," she said all too casually,"it's for research anyway."

Levi cantered Noir by now, running him through the field and jumping him over stone walls and logs.

"Why?"

"Hm?" She asked, watching Levi and no looking at Eren.

"Why do you want a child?"

Her expression changed as though he touched a sensitive topic. "...I have a feeling you could benefit mankind this way. What if we lose you? If there's a child that holds the same genetic material as you, as in it can change into a Titan, we'll have security."

"You couldn't have someone else do this?" He asked sheepishly. He was, in his own way, trying to reject her. She was important to the Recon Corps after all, having a child, even now, if all times, wouldn't benefit mankind considering so much had happened these passed few years. "Maybe a surrogate...a whore?"

"Would you want Mikasa to do it with you?" Hanji shot at him challengingly. "She'll be clambering for you and the child both, should this work. And if you die, you think she'll be in the right mind to care for it? I can do it, I could be responsible-"

"...no," he told her before she went on.

"No...what?"

Oh shit, she sounded pissed.

"No, as in, no, I will _not_ have sex with you," he said firmly, already uncomfortable with her being in close proximity. She was strange as a person in general. Now she was disturbing him, he didn't like it.

It was the largest mistake he could have possibly made. She reached into her coat pocket, he began to back away until he fell off the wall; he landed on the soft grass on the other side as she loomed over him.

"You could have said yes, Eren," Hanji warned him, she repeated,"you could have said yes."

"W-what're you doing?" He asked defensively.

Hanji's hand drew forth a test tube. A sudden instinct rose to defend himself. He heard stories of Hanji, men, and test tubes; in fact, there was this one guy...never mind that. His ass was up in the air and against the wall, an absolute target for her! He brought his hand to his mouth and bit through his skin, taking his flesh through his teeth.

Just before his Titan began to materialize, just before light blinded the both of them, he saw Hanji suddenly smile in an almost fanatical way, amongst the drowning noises he heard her scream out,**"SUCCESS!"**

As he faded from the world, his last thoughts crossed his mind.

_'What the absolute fuck is wrong with this woman?'_


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N: DEAR READERS, PLEASE READ THIS, THIS IS FOR YOU AWESOME PEOPLE**

So...I got into the SnK fandom around the end of April 2013, I didn't start writing until around July. I've been writing for Kuroshitsuji for three years, but somewhere, I got pulled into the insanity of SnK, ha ha. Anyway, these stories are just my outlet. I suffer from depression. For personal reasons, I am unable to go to a therapist to be checked or get the help I need, as a result, I write. I just write.

Most of my stories I've written before pertain to horror and angst, a much uncanny reflection to my mindset. I picked up this request on the SnK Kinkmeme forum out of boredom and I was surprised at how fast this had gotten attention from a lot of you. None of you have any idea how much it means to open my e-mail to find notifications of someone favoriting and/or following my stories; reviews are my favorite as they offer feedback.

(Alright, I will give a shout-out for Jaeger's Paradise for making my day, I was literally crying from laughing too hard at the review)

To me, fan fiction is my window to the world. It's like I'm screaming and I have a voice that can actually be heard. This is my first fic in which I have implemented humor, and I seem to be doing an alright job with it. Ha ha.

Anyway, thank you so much for your reviews. You all make my days worth it. Keep it up and I'll keep writing.

For those that closely follow "Unfettered", thank you as well for keeping up with it. It's a story I'm writing for myself, like a play on ideas, hence why it shoots out from the main storyline. I promise I'll be working on it, along with this at the same time. As school is coming up, updates will take longer.

Enough of myself, you guys deserve the next chapter! ONWARDS!

* * *

-Half an Hour Earlier-

This could have been a peaceful morning.

Erwin quietly shuffled around in bed, changing his position to face the window. The sun had risen over the hills, the window was wide open, a breeze came by, kissing his skin and beckoning him to start a new day. However...his head pounded, the light became unbearable, the slightest noise of a songbird irritated him, and the breeze...it just pissed him off.

He had drank too much last night. He remembered pouring over reports (and pouring vine over said reports) and drinking glass after glass until a certain Titan enthusiast came barging into his office, claiming something about...sex and Eren? He couldn't recall the conversation after slamming a door in Hanji's face.

Groaning and shielding his eyes, a knock came from the door.

"What!?" He drew out, reaching over for a pillow to cover his head.

"Sir, it's Petra," the visitor told him,"you told me to bring you pain relievers."

"Get in," Erwin told her, not remembering to give such orders.

The door didn't creak open, it fucking thundered. He rolled his eyes and groaned once more as Petra entered, boots pounding against the masonry. The strident noise ceased when he stopped at the bedside. Petra tapped his shoulder with a cold bottle, Erwin threw the pillow to the side in favor for the mixture.

He downed the flask and set it to the bedside table.

"Thanks," Erwin mumbled, ending up on his back to face the chandelier above him.

Petra sat on the bed next to him. She leaned towards him with a wet towel; the man always needed one. Upon seeing her, he remembered that he was wandering the hallway the night before, only bumping into her and having her guide him back to his room. He had his dirtied uniform on from yesterday's expedition but he guessed she couldn't change his clothes.

She laid the cold cloth against his forehead. "You really need to stop drinking too much after a mission."

"I might have lost count," he shrugged, eyes closing. The bed became even when she got up. He heard her move to the other windows to let in more air.

"It's enough I have to tuck Auruo to bed every week," she sighed, exasperated,"I'm at the point of where I just want let him pass out in the courtyard and bleed to death."

"Be sure to stuff a cloth in his mouth," he murmured.

It was quiet in the room, though the calls of birds became bearable. He couldn't bring himself to sleep, he was the man to sleep in the daytime. Then again, this particular hangover was severe enough that he would have to nurse himself for a few hours before getting up. However, he felt filthy in his clothes. As Petra opened the last window, he heard her say,"I've already set up a bath, it's waiting for you to use it."

He brought himself to sit up.

The medicine had begun to take its effect. He got to his feet and staggered to the lavatory where the woman had already drew water for him. He closed the door behind himself, not needing Petra's assistance anymore. He stripped down, leaving the clothes in the hamper nearby. Petra had even opened the central window of his bath.

The air and birds, they were bearable now. The tub was situated close enough to the window, giving him a nice, corner view of the courtyard and field below; it was quite the height, he was at the fourth floor.

He lowered himself into the warm water to ease his aching muscles, thankful that she knew what he needed. He leaned against the edge, resting and lulling himself to relax. From his spot, he could see a rider atop a black horse riding across the open field. A little ways passed the courtyard were two individuals sitting at a stone wall. He could hear their voices.

Eren and Hanji.

He wouldn't be surprised if the rider was Levi.

-Present Moment-

Suddenly he saw Eren scooting away, trying to evade Hanji. Then he fell to his back. Erwin perked up at this, he leaned over the window in disbelief as Hanji brought out a test tube.

A flash of light and a shriek of,**"SUCCESS!"** rang through the field; the earth shook right after, before his eyes stood Eren's Titan. The water of his tub sloshed around as the Titan let out a ground shaking cry and took several steps away from the wall. Erwin leaned further, one hand held to the sill, the other frantically waved to clear the mist of vapor.

Just as he had regained a strong vision of the area, a pair of grappling hooks flew to the side of his window, embedding themselves into the stone. He blinked twice. First, he saw the cable. Second, up came Hanji.

"What is going on!?" He exclaimed, though more snapped as the headache was still throbbing. She threw a quick glance at him as she hung off the wall, her feet bracing her as the hooks held her in place; one hand held both her grips, the other was busying at removing one sleeve of her jacket. Somehow...the woman was stripping herself in front of him. "Hanji!"

"You said it'd be ok to touch Eren in any way I see fit!"

Erwin brought his free hand to rub one temple. When was that?

_ "Get out! A teenager's raging hormones isn't going to save humanity!"_

Wait, there's a Titan. Eren is a Titan at the moment. Hold on, he remembered the conversation last night being about sex and Eren.

_"Eren's strong libido...meant to procreate shortly after transformation!..."_

_'Oh no...'_

His mind flashed back so quickly that he was overwhelmed, he slammed hs back against the other side of the bath. Water overflowed and spilled over the edge, but the realization of everything was hitting him too much.

_"...boy is not a stallion up for breeding...you've got to be kidding me...oh god, you're not kidding." _

_"...I want Titan children..."_

Children. The woman wants children. Titan children at that.

_"Fine, I grant you...permission to _touch_ Eren in any way you see fit, just don't scar him for life."_

Something about test tubes came about. He pushed it out of his mind as he saw Eren's Titan begin to leave for the field. He brought himself to the window to see Hanji had managed to open her button down shirt.

"Hanji, I was drunk last night!" He tried to explain. Truthfully, he only heavily drank after she left. "Get your clothes on, get Eren out of that thing, then leave him alone; you are not authorized to have sex with the boy!"

The door burst open behind him, revealing a confused and startled Petra. She rushed over to him. "Sir! Eren''s Titan is loose, what should we do!?" She tried to cover her eyes as the Commander was nude before her. "Oh god, I'm sorry!"

Erwin brought his attention back to Hanji. She had halted midway, her shirt was opened though her straps kept it on her body. His eyes followed up to her face, he saw that she had begun to...cry?

He rubbed his eyes.

_'What is up with the woman?'_

"Go get him out and do not perform anything sexual, I'm ordering you to do that," he firmly demanded, he wasn't in the mood for insubordination. Test tube or not, he was now sober to make a conscious (and logical) decision.

She reluctantly nodded and boosted herself off the wall, her hooks retracting and going to Eren's Titan, she landed safely on his neck with blades drawn. Erwin sighed and leaned back, once more, to the edge of the tub. Petra was still in the room; she was standing by the sink, her face smeared in a slight blush. He faced her and let out an exasperated sigh, eyes closing as if he wanted her to go away.

"Petra, had you spoken with Hanji?"

"...was that the person you were yelling to?" She timidly asked.

"Yes."

"Um...for a few weeks I've been talking to her. She's been grieving about her pet Titans." He opened his eyes, flickering them at her. When she took notice of this, she tried to explain herself. "Just last night, before bed, she grabbed me and started raving about this notion of using Eren as the perfect father to create Titans. I think this is her way of coping."

Erwin started to piece it together. The woman saw Sawney and Bean (Was that what she called them this time?) as children, she would do the strangest things and...form a demented bond with them (it's more of a one-sided relationship). Of course, her experiments were meant to benefit mankind but still, she had an unhealthy obsession.

"Does she have anyone close to her? Friend? Lover?"

Petra tried not to laugh. "She spends her time in the lab, I never seen her anywhere else, nor with anyone."

And then, the idea struck him as shouting rose up from the outside; Eren and apparently drawn attention from those who had awoken as well.

-...-

Noir whined at the sight of Eren while a group of people had been drawn in by the tremors.

"A Titan!"

"No, that's Eren's Titan!"

"Why's he out!?"

"Someone, get a Gear! Is anyone wearing a Gear!?"

He had only noticed Hanji when she had taken her seat with ERen on the small, stone wall after he had done a couple rounds. He wasn't able to witness the scene but somehow, she pushed Eren into transformation. He cantered Noir to the scene but gave a wide berth of Eren's feet, he didn't have a Gear to subdue the Titan but he remembered Hanji having one.

Once the vapor had cleared, he saw Hanji had propped herself on the wall and appeared to be...stripping. The woman would actually be conducting her experiments right then and now?

_'Damn, she's eager for a fuck.'_

He stopped Noir a safe distance as Eren began to move about. His eyes fell to a man leaning out of his window, nude; he guessed it to be Erwin. He was telling her something but he couldn't make out their conversation.

"Where's the Commander!?"

"How about the Corporal!?"

"Hey! Some lady is stripping by the Commander's window!"

"It's Major Hanji!"

He watched as Hanji released her hooks and flew to Eren with her blades.

Erwin had retreated back into his window.

Levi watched her easily dispatch the Titan, taking the chunk of flesh out of the nape of his neck. The Titan fell to its knees as more soldiers began to crowd at the courtyard. He trotted over to them, told them to leave, and they obediently did so despite the Titan's corpse collapsing face first with vapor profusely pouring from Hanji's assault.

When the last man had gone, he brought his attention back to the fallen Titan. The vapor dispersed throughout the area, creating a thick haze. Noir stomped his hooves anxiously, waiting for Levi to bring him back to his stall for a good day's rest. But the man kept his horse in place, tugging at the reins and making him back up when he stepped forward too much.

He waited. And waited.

He wouldn't be surprised if the smoke cleared and Hanji would be found fucking the boy.

He figured she'd take care of business anyway, he didn't want to be around when that delusional side of Eren took over. He turned his horse away, heading back for the courtyard. The wind carried the vapor over, creating a misty affect though he didn't mind it; there were a few soldiers who had stayed to attend to their horses. As he dismounted, he was approached by Petra and a half dressed Erwin.

Levi wasn't given a chance to ask anything as Erwin asked,"Had you seen Hanji?"

"Half naked, yes," he snidely replied. Erwin grimaced.

"I meant where is she?"

Levi pointed a thumb at the source of the vapor. "Probably fucking Eren right now."

"I called back the order. I was drunk last night."

"How irresponsible of you," he scoffed.

Erwin let out a grunt and jogged off, closely followed by Petra. The vapor engulfed them, leaving him to Noir. He took the reins over Noir's head and lead him to the tie down. From there, he removed all of his horse's tack and then led him back to his designated stall. The mist had managed to go this far, much to his annoyance. He brought Noir into the stall, removed his halter, and hung the ropes to the appropriate places.

He'd rather not be there when he hears Hanji screaming her head off in erotic pleasure if Erwin failed to get to her on time.

He extended his hand to Noir, letting the horse lick it as praise.

It was then, in unawares, that a pair of hands descended upon his shoulders, grasping him and shoving him against the wall to pin him in place. He grunted when he whirled around; his head collided with the masonry, causing his vision to be obscure for a brief second. Levi shook his head and brought a closed fist into the assailant's ribs, hoping to break it. He wasn't a man that took well to surprises, anyone who was foolish enough were dispatched quickly.

No cry came from the person but something snapped over his knuckles. There was some damage there...

"Eren!" He growled, the boy stood there, expressionless though his hands were at his shoulders, keeping him in place. If Hanji's stupid theory was right, this wasn't the person he was addressing. Whether or not it was Eren, he delivered another blow to the stomach, trying to drive him away.

However, it was like hitting a boulder; he wouldn't move. Instead, he dipped his head low to Levi, his voice husky and murmuring into his ear,"It's nice to see you again, _Corporal_." He swore he saw him smirk cockily.

The way he spoke, it was too smooth, melting his mind. He was getting irritated by it and yet, he ceased his attack; the voice oddly made him feel trapped. He kept his composure as he evenly asked him,"Why aren't you with Hanji?"

"I have no interest in women."

Eren withdrew his head. He was quite taller than Levi, as so, he looked down at him. His eyes were half-lidded though they told of a mischievous soul with the intent of wanting to play; the smile he wore was lazy that made it hard to resist of thinking naughty thoughts. As he loomed over him, Levi let out a _"tch"_ and ordered him,"Let me go."

He remembered telling him to "release me" would lead to an unpleasant encounter that he wouldn't want to have at the moment.

The boy shrugged and, upon his request, relinquished his grip. Levi stole a glance at his torso, wondering if the bones had mended themselves already. He stood there, eyes fixated on Levi as though drinking his entire appearance.

"Alright, since that Four-eyed fuck isn't available, I'll just ask you what the absolute fuck do you want?"

He gave a cryptic smile. "Your body."

Levi glared hard at him. Hanji's voice echoed through his mind.

_"...he will be driven by mankind's primal instinct; to satisfy his carnal desires for the first few hours..."_

He gave a defeated sigh. Eren would be persistent if he didn't get what he wanted. After all, Levi was entrusted to take care of him as best he could.

_"...he wouldn't remember what he did while being Erotic Eren..."_

He made a gesture for the boy. "Follow me."


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** I am Wildeve of the Heath, I have been told that people are taking this SnK fan fic and reblogging it on tumblr without my permission or knowing...guys, not cool. If any of you SnK fans see any of my fics reblogged (even if it is giving a link and credit), please notify me. I understand that this story had caught your eye but please, tell me that you're posting this story elsewhere.

Fan art is welcomed, just let me know if you made it. Ways to contact me about anything will be posted on my profile on this account. Anyway, let me accentuate this here:

**THIS ACCOUNT IS THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR, THIS STORY IS THE ORIGINAL STORY.  
I AM WILDEVE OF THE HEATH.  
**

Without further ado, let's continue on with this. As you all have been begging for, I present to you...well, you know what it is, ha ha.

By the way, thank you guys for your reviews on the last chapter, I only serve to entertain~!

* * *

Levi could feel the boy staring at him as he stood behind a few steps back.

There was a decent distance between him and Eren, something that made this a bit more bearable. Just a bit.

He led him to his room, ushering him inside first and then closing the door behind him. Eren's boots from last night were still here, pressed against the wall and bookshelf. Eren strode around as though he were examining the place, seeing if it was his tastes; he picked up a strip of leather that Levi cast away that night. Levi locked the door behind him. Casting the key to a small basket on a shelf, he pulled a chair out and gestured Eren to sit.

"Go on, sit," he told him, expecting him to obey.

Eren placed down the strip and did as he were told. He crossed one leg over and reclined back, his hands folded neatly in his lap.

So far, this...Eren was compliant, unlike yesterday. Levi scrutinized his posture, trying to read what this boy was. He was relaxed and somewhat aloof, even his breathing was lazy. The other Eren would be sitting up in attention, ready to listen and nod in a moment's notice.

However, the look in his eyes was something Levi didn't like.

He kept his composure. _This Eren could be bullshitting me into trying to lower my guard. That's why he's being compliant right now._

"What a nice, cozy room," Eren drawled out. Levi's mind shot back to when he said those words yesterday. He tried to push away the thoughts and what followed afterwards, the only expression he gave was a small shudder in his limbs and then he immediately folded his arms over his chest; he leaned against his desk.

"Yes, it's rather warming," Levi replied, agreeing with him.

Eren's eyes glanced over to the burning fire; they keep the fires going as Winter was drawing nearer by the week. "You even got a bed by the fire-"

"-and all that's missing is a body needlessly fucking into me," Levi finished for him. He wasn't amused by the play on words.

The boy let out a deep chuckle. "You remember yesterday, hm?"

"How can I ever forget getting wanked atop a horse?" Levi sarcastically asked. He wanted to assault him, brutalize him, do something to get rid of that smile, that chuckle, those eyes. But...he knew that none of it would work. It was like the boy in front of him wasn't even human.

Eren shrugged. "Some people are forgetful. You know...back in my village, we rarely have such luxuries- a bed, a roof, and even a fire. Toiling in the dirt like animals, barely feeding off what we can find ever since you humans raised the Walls through the others that took pity on you."

Levi perked up at the choice of words, his arms dropping to his side. '_Why is he raving all of a sudden?'_

"Are you saying you're not from within these Walls?" He asked forcefully.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," Eren chortled, suddenly getting up. Levi didn't move from his spot though his hands pressed against his desk, bracing himself when the boy drew close. He was paralyzed, no longer by the eyes but by the fact that he was given a straight out confession of his origins. This sort of thing would have stunned anyone.

_'Why can't I react to this properly? I should be decapitating him...but if I do, he won't give us the answers we desperately need.'_

His mind snapped back into the moment when Eren had gotten into his space, breathing over him like a predator sniffing the fear of his prey. But Levi wasn't a man to kiss fear so easily, not since...well, that's another story altogether, yet for the first time in what felt like decades, his guard had been let down enough for Eren to close in too far from comfort.

"Your little crusade against Titans," he huskily rasped when he craned his head for Levi's ear,"will be nothing without me. My care for humanity has taken too much of a hold, so much I can barely think of what I was nowadays; that child has so much hate towards us, it's almost like a war when we come together as one."

"...who are you?" Levi breathed as Eren's hands went to grasp at his arms, locking him in place. Once he had gained a grip of him, Levi knew that there would be no way of escape, he would have to go through with it, whatever this Eren had the intention of doing.

Something moist and heated when to caress a spot just slightly below his ear, eliciting a slight shiver from him.

That pudgy muscle tickled him, causing blood to rise to his head. It had been a long while since someone had gotten that close to that area that the sensation was more enjoyable than it used to be. He tried to stay stiff, standing there with his hands holding him against the table. Levi instinctively exposed his neck, already feeling the temptation of being touched for the third time.

At least he was locked in his room, no interruptions of unwanted exhibitions. He had no problem with that. Being in public, he would have rejected Eren as best he could, even avoiding him to save face.

A newly found enemy. He had played this sort of game before but it was rare to have him in such a submissive state.

Eren's lips latched to the juncture of his neck, roughly sucking at his skin before nipping, bringing more heat to rise in Levi's head. A stirring feeling rose in his gut, telling him that he was bending to Eren all too easily. That part, he wouldn't take well. He tried to pull his arms away but then Eren forced his weight over him, causing him to land on his back upon his desk.

His lips detached from him as he brought his right leg one up to kneel on the desk over Levi; that knee had managed to nudge Levi's left thigh, forcing him to raise his own up by Eren's waist. His boot-clad leg dangled by while his other was spread out by Eren's left leg.

The shifting of their bodies caused several documents to swoosh out of their place and flutter to the floor like leaves. The wrestle of sheets drowned away by another one of Eren's chuckles when Levi began to show a bit of resistance.

The desk was fairly large enough to hold them both on the surface.

"Who are you?" He asked firmly, trying to prop himself up on his elbows but Eren's hands kept his back pressed against the wood surface. Eren simply ground his hips against Levi, trying to cause a reaction. The heat traveled further down at that; the palm of his hands rested flatly against his desk. He glowered when Eren smiled and shook his head.

"What makes you think I'd give my name all too easily?" Eren asked, letting his hips roll again.

That certainly made something twitch within Levi.

_'Fucking great...'_

Levi rolled his eyes, mostly out of Eren's refusal and some of it from that feeling beginning to surface.

And then Eren released one hand on Levi's arm. He saw him reach for the cup where various writing tools were stored at. Levi's eyes followed that hand, cautiously watching until the boy found a knife that functioned as a letter opener. It didn't look threatening but it was long and sharp, something that Levi grew alarmed when he saw it travel down to his waist.

He began to thrash when it got near his buckles.

"Eren, don't fucking do that!" He said, a tint of fear in his voice. How could he have let him get that close? How could he have been so easily-

But Eren slammed the knife to the desk, the thud forcing Levi to grow quiet. His heart was pounding, his eyes were opened wider, he felt he had some reason to fear Eren.

As he was stunned in place, Eren reached to his hair, grabbed a tuft of it, and forcibly pulled to make him sit up. He forcibly brought Levi down, resulting him to hit the back of his head against his desk. Vision blurred and momentarily incapacitated, Eren seized the chance to take the knife and slice away at Levi's slacks, not bothering to even unzip him.

Neither of them wore their harnesses, it was too early in the morning for it.

"My name isn't Eren," the boy told him, using his hand to tear away whatever was left until Levi's limp length was exposed, along with the rest of himself. As his focus into the world began to take form, Eren slid down his body and off of the desk. Levi would have taken the chance to kick at Eren's own head but couldn't bring himself to do so when the same tongue that ran by his ear was suddenly pressed against his member, licking all around it, assertive in its purpose.

He let it run down, going as far as the base, then running it back to the tip. A few strokes of saliva coating him from the top was enough to bring him to hardness. It was done all too quickly, the boy knew what he was doing. He was skilled, every movement was natural and unhindered by the unknown.

Levi let out a low groan when he was engulfed by Eren's mouth. The boy ran his tongue at the underside, played with the slit, then let him go as far as reaching the back of his throat. For a moment, he thought Eren would pull his head away, but most bizarrely, he let him go deeper into his throat. Sensations overtook him and he found himself letting profanity slip his lips when Eren hummed; his throat was drawing him close to that edge, all too soon.

And it stopped, Eren eased away the erect length from his mouth, replacing the stimulation with his hand to lazily stroke Levi. He brought himself back to kneeling over the man.

His mind had gone into a haze once the pain from being jostled to the desk ebbed away. Levi unconsciously let his question slip,"Who are you?"

An oil lamp sat nearby. Eren's freehand removed the top of the cylinder and removed the wick. The question went ignored as Eren dipped two of his fingers into the glass container and soak themselves; when there was enough he brought his oil coated fingers to Levi's ass, suddenly playing around with that hole. Levi tucked his chin over his chest, his teeth reaching for the cloth of his cravat.

He thrust his head down and managed to take a mouthful of it.

Simultaneously, Eren had pushed two fingers into him, not bothering to play around anymore. Pain shot through Levi; his teeth tug into the cloth as his fingers scraped against the wooden surface. It was like he had just remembered that his arms were free. He reached out to Eren, trying to shove him off but the suddenly vicious stroking of his length made him think otherwise, only to slam his hands on the wood and resume scraping away at it.

Everything was coupled with pain and pleasure until Eren decided to thrust his fingers into him, not taking him into consideration. He agonizingly stretched his walls for a few seconds, then withdrew his oily fingers so that he may fish out his own length; he even ceased to stroke Levi's member. Levi took the moment to prop himself up on his elbows, to see what Eren had.

He was already hardened and even standing when he unzipped his slacks. Both of his hands went to Levi's hips, lifting them so that his length would press against that hastily abused entrance. Upon feeling him just there, Levi bit deeper into his cravat, mentally bracing himself as Eren shoved himself into him.

An obvious groan came from the boy as though he were relieved at finally getting what he wanted. He pushed in, groaning out of pleasure while Levi, on the other hand, released a muffled scream from his throat, keening at the excruciating pain of being stretched more than the limits of Eren's fingers. He wasn't even given time to adjust when Eren arbitrarily railed into his body even further, taking himself passed whatever the oil had covered.

Levi took in sharp breathes, trying to cope with the pain and unwelcome weight with him.

"Tight as a virgin, aren't you?" He heard him taunt roughly.

His brought a hand desperately went to his own, loose length and stroked it vigorously as though touching himself would offer some sort of relief to this horrid feeling. It was crude but had some sort of effect. He tried to bring his focus on his own strokes rather than Eren's thrusting, but the boy was ravaging his body more than he could keep up with.

His hand fell dead to the desk as his other one went to cover his eyes, he didn't want to see Eren.

Hips bucking against his, the turmoil went on. The desk rattled against the wall, slamming into it with the threatening shake of possibly breaking down from their weight; Levi's back accumulated sweat and stuck to the surface of the desk itself, providing a good traction for Eren to use; the sickening, violating sounds of skin slapping incessantly against skin and lubrication bounced off the walls.

He could feel every excruciating drag and pull, a tear came to the corner of his eye as he tried to bear with it for as long as he could, he was hissing behind the cloth. The more he dug, the more he heard a tear from the cloth.

Eren's fingers bore into his hips, forcing him closer to him at every thrust. Grunts and long, drawn-out groans reverberated from Eren's throat, his thrusts suddenly grew erratic, desperate at finding some release. Eren took Levi's cock into hand once more and harshly stroked and dug, tightened his fingers even, just wanting to push Levi to the edge before him.

He played with the slit by the pad of his thumb, flicked it even, then caressed around the tip before fondling near his balls. That was when Levi had lost it. He was hurled over that pique without a second's notice. He came in a horrid mess with him keening in pain; the tightening of his walls around Eren had made the boy groan with a dry throat, causing it to crack with the most uncomfortable sound.

He felt himself spill between them, coating their shirts. Following him, Eren filled him up too much, most of it not even fitting and leaking just at the edges. Quickly, Eren withdrew and stood there, watching Levi come down from his high. Panting and spitting out his now salivated cravat, Levi managed to bring prop himself on his elbows to lock eyes with Eren.

He glared, scowled, but couldn't bring out any words to say insults.

_'Fuck you...whoever you are.'_

Eren could only give a satisfied smile. He untangled himself from Levi's limbs and stepped to the floor, body trembling. "It's been a while since I had flesh in that sense."

"You...better have had the best damn time with me then," Levi spat, tongue licking his chapped lips to moisten them.

Eren's hands went to the edge of the desk to brace himself as though he had something else to say, but he dropped to his knees on the floor. His hands squeaked against the wooden surface as he dragged them along; his fingers disappeared from sight. He heard a dead thud hit the floor, and then silence.

"Eren?" Levi called to him

No response.

Probably the next time he would awaken, it would no longer be the Erotic Eren that would be speaking. Levi brought his hands to his eyes, rubbing them; he lacked the strength to get up at all. He rested his head against the desk but felt that there was a sore spot; one of his forearms was used to brace himself so that he may somewhat comfortably lay there. He legs languidly spread out on the desk, unmoving, no doubt that anywhere below the waist was hurting him the worst.

There he was.

Mankind's strongest soldier, laying there, exposed and dripping in filth, clothes torn and showing what Eren had done, had bent himself over for someone other than authority.

His head turned to the side, facing the door.

The keyhole was small but, from his angle, he could see it clearly. As he absentmindedly dazed at it, he swore he could have been tired or paranoid when he saw something.

_'...an eye?'_


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** So...here's a chapter, an apology for my mishap with Chapter 2. *cries and hides*

Amazing, 100 Favorites and 100+ Follows! *rolls around* Mah goodness!

Thank you so much for your reviews, as always~! Let's see if we can break passed 100 reviews as well! Show your support you awesome people! You demanded a continuation, I give at your will! For the fans! *charges around*

On a final note, "Unfettered" shall be worked on later in the week.

* * *

She stood up. Her hands brushed the dirt away from her skirt as the pads of her bare feet lightly slapped the cool surface of the stone floor, not making anything loud that could echo through the hallway. Her eyes were fixated on the knob, staring at it as though it would give her an answer to what she had just seen. But it stared back at her, not speaking.

Doors don't speak unless there are voices behind it.

And the voices and screams, the groans and sickening sounds, all of it died down, leaving her to the silence. Slowly, she stepped away and strode down the hallway, her eyes staring off into space as her feet carried her elsewhere.

-...-

Jean slept in that morning.

Upon entering the mess hall around noon, he found numerous Scouts awake and buzzing with conversation with meals already eaten. Most of them wore their normal outfits save for the superiors who took to wearing uniforms; Jean himself had only tossed on a button-down and slacks for comfort. As he rubbed his eyes, he went over to the serving table where warm soup and bread was available.

He went over to the same table as last night and groggily ate, watching to see who was there.

Christa and Ymir, those two that he considered too close to one another, were chatting about something. Near them was Sasha...eating what she could get, like always.

Connie was situated next to her though he looked tired as he rested his head against the table.

Bertolt and Reiner looked like they were having a heated discussion. Jean grew fixated on them until Bertolt stood up with a shaking head, then left; Reiner got to his feet and followed.

Half of Levi's Special Operations Squad sat at the row closest to his, among them sat Mike. He drew his attention back to his soup but his ears followed their conversation as best as they could.

"...she's pretty injured," Mike said, he sounded fairly disappointed.

"That's what she gets for undressing in public," came Auruo's voice, it was dry and heavy, like he had a hangover; he groaned and slumped against the table.

Gunther asked,"What are we going to tell everyone? We can't find Eren, he wasn't there when Erwin and Petra got to the body."

"Too many of the Scouts saw Hanji," Erd added.

"Say that she slipped and fell hard?" Auruo uttered.

Mike defended her,"She's not that clumsy, plus, the wounds she received aren't from a Titan, it's from someone throttling her-"

"Sir."

Jean back was turned to face the group, he was unable to see who it was but she was familiar.

"Yes, Ackerman?"

"I saw Eren following the Corporal to his private quarters."

Chairs scraped against the masonry, they each stood up and left the room with haste. Jean kept his eyes down but then_ she_ came walking by to cross the mess hall for the other door that led to their barracks. He watched her retreated back, his eyes taking in her hair as it bounced a bit with her steps. She wore that plain skirt and sleeved blouse, though they fit her form and curves perfectly.

He stared at her, eyes going up then eyes going down.

Mikasa was barefooted.

-...-

"Corporal!"

"Sir?"

"Eren! You in here?"

Levi had been laying at his desk, unmoving for hours, mind replaying what he happened. His body too sore to get up and move. His slacks were sliced at the crotch area, he could feel the filth shift around in him, how disgusting. As the voices rose outside with knocks, he painfully forced himself to sit up on his desk, then he hopped off to head for his wardrobe where he quickly undid whatever was left of his clothes for fresh ones.

"I don't think he's here..."

"But the door's locked-"

He reached for a cloth to clean off the mess on his stomach.

"He locks it whenever he's inside."

"...Auruo, how do you know that?"

Their feet shuffled about outside as Levi threw off his shirt and soaking cravat to the hamper. He hastily grabbed a loose shirt, vest, and even a new cravat; he gotten a hold of loose slacks and was tucking his shirt away as he headed for the door.

But then Eren's limp floor on the ground began to rustle about, moving and gaining consciousness while letting out a slight whimper. Levi paused, eyes trained on him, not taking any movement closer to the door. He was laying on his back, pants a bit shucked down half-way to his thigh, exposing himself. When he noticed it, he propped himself up, mouth opening to let out some cry of confusion but Levi lunged over to him to cover his mouth.

"W-why am I-?"

"Fix your slacks, pretend nothing happened," Levi murmured when he successfully quieted him, though he felt a tinge of sickness wash over him upon being in contact with the boy. Eren nodded and began to pull his pants up, then he got to his feet. Eren looked ready to protest but Levi glowered, telling him to follow his will.

The voices outside began to converse quietly. They were waiting for him to get out of the room.

"You think he knows about Hanji?"

"Petra said he was there on Noir, I think- ah, my tongue!"

His hand went to the basket for the key, then pushed it through the keyhole to unlock the door. The click made the hallway grow quiet; with Eren sheepishly stood behind him, mind processing why he was on the floor, near naked. Levi pulled the door open to see Auruo standing across from him with a bloodied mouth.

"Corporal," Auruo greeted sleepily.

He stepped out, followed by Eren.

Erd and Gunther were loitering as well, they stood to attention as Mike stood parallel to them.

Eren followed behind, they stared at him, then at Levi.

"What is it?" He asked.

Mike cleared his throat, nose scrunching; he only did that when he was sniffing the air for a scent. Whether it was instinctual or done on purpose, Mike would be the first to confirm what occurred; the others would be holding questions but they would stay quiet out of fear of Levi quieting them as well. "Hanji's been injured quite heavily when she was retrieving Eren from that Titan, we searched for him ourselves and...we were told to go here."

Eren let out a straggled gasp at the mention of her,"I did that-?"

"It took you a few hours to find him? Amazing." Levi's eyes drifted to the corners as though he were trying to see Eren, but he brought them back to Mike. He had to lie. "Eren's told me what he could, I trust his word that he was only participating in Hanji's experiments, nothing more or less." His thoughts traced back to the crowd. "There were witnesses, right?"

"Yes, sir, they anxiously wait to know what happened," Erd answered.

"Just tell them Hanji was being Hanji," he bluntly told them,"where is she anyway?"

Auruo pointed his thumb down the hallway,"Infirmary, licking her wounds. Petra and the Commander are there."

Levi gave a nod as Eren closed the door behind him. "Eren will be with me so don't worry about losing him. Get back to whatever you were doing."

Simultaneously, they nodded while saying,"Yes, sir," as he passed by Mike.

The taller man sniffed the air around Eren as he shirked away from him, uncomfortable with the constant checking of scent. When Levi grew far, he heard Eren lightly jog to keep up with him as he rounded a corner for the stairs. His mind racked over what happened, his legs could hardly hold him up at a brisk pace. He found himself walking with a slight limp.

_'Does he really not know what happened?'_

"Corporal?" He heard Eren. He didn't want to look at him.

"Hm?"

"...why was I, my pants, why are they...?" His voice trailed off. It wasn't deep or daunting, just Eren. Obviously he sounded worried over it.

They merged one floor down, then went down another flight. "You don't remember having sex?"

"Uh, uh...no," Eren said, shocked,"not at all, sir, I-"

Just as they were half way down, Levi turned to face him. Eren was looking down at him, eyes shocked. He was stumbling for words. How often does one find himself with his dick out in the open? Not often unless you were that sort of person who liked to expose himself. Perhaps it was good to actually have a sight at what he looked like.

And then the boy had the audacity to ask,"Was it good?"

"No, Eren, it was horrible," he blatantly told him.

Eren couldn't look anymore worried that he was. "I'm sorry, sir."

He could feel the sincerity in those three words.

"It's fine, you're not at fault."

He knew that, technically, it couldn't be Eren's doing. He remembered Eren's words from last night, about trusting one another. It would be hypocritical to do the opposite, to not trust Eren himself. Before him stood that dutiful boy who is humanity's last hope, but inside him stood some sex-driven son of a bitch that claims to only want bodies to fuck.

He tried to test him once more.

"Do you know of a village-"

Eren tilted his head at the slightest.

"-a place where you lacked the luxuries of basic living?"

"I'm from Shiganshina," he said, not understanding the nonsense told to him,"I don't know any village, I've only gone as far as the training squad and Scouting Legion had taken me."

He gave a slow nod. He had a grasp on this Eren, he was speaking hesitantly but most reassuringly, as if he knew what he was saying was true. He sounded sure of himself. But it irked Levi.

Eren could apologize for whatever Erotic Eren done and yet not know of what he done, he would be confused. It was like speaking to a different person altogether. Levi let out a heavy sigh, he thought of two people in one body; he'd hit Eren and there would be no traces of discipline marked on the next Eren. Hanji would be the right person for this, even if her demands of...having a child (_'Crazy bitch,'_ he told himself) would still be prevalent, this phenomenon would make more sense to her.

"Aren't we going to see Hanji?" Eren's voice broke him out of thought.

_'Again with the worried tone.'_

Levi turned and continued down the stairs,"Yes, we are."

-...-

Erwin had left to fetch himself a shirt, he had been gone for some time but returned with a fresh one.

Petra stayed by Hanji's bedside, the woman was propped against the pillows while wearing only a long gown that reached to her knees. Hanji occupied the bed the second furthest away from the door; the medic had left to fill in a report despite the Commander being there in person.

During his absence, she had awoken though she didn't say a word; she was awfully quiet. When the Commander approached, he noticed her sitting, staring into her lap. He pulled a chair by her bedside.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

A quiet Hanji was a new thing to both of them, it scared them; she may explode at any second. Her eyes were flickering left and right, like thoughts were swimming through her head faster than the Scouting Legion's speediest horse.

Of course, physically, the question was a stupid one.

Bruises lined her face, a busted lip marred her usually kind face, and there was even a blackening skin just below her eye; her goggle's lenses were cracked beyond repair and it now sat on the bedside table with the straps snapped. They both found her on the ground near Eren's Titan, hear Gear still connected to her but the sheathes were bent out of shape, almost like a horse had smashed it out of anger. When they brought her in, the medic found that she had a couple broken ribs and a dislocated left shoulder.

With Eren unseen amongst the smoke, Erwin and Petra assumed either the boy had throttled her or that she had some sort of complication while trying to extract Eren from the body. Both were hoping it was the latter.

"Hanji-"

"That thing that came out of the Titan, she said with a heavy lisp, her voice was barely audible,"that wasn't Eren. I thought he'd be drawn to my body and have an attraction like he does with Levi, but when I got him out, his eyes opened- that was it. It's not Eren. I'm not sure he'd be fit to call Erotic Eren..."

Now she was babbling in disbelief.

Petra placed a comforting hand to Hanji's good shoulder.

Right then, the doors opened.

Levi entered first with Eren himself following closely behind. His eyes settled on Hanji and he drew near, the woman's eyes, now donning her spectacles, leered at Eren.

"You look like Noir stepped on you," Levi commented snidely, taking a seat on the bed next to her. Eren stood by though he kept a distance at the sight of Hanji. She raised a finger at him, pointing at the boy.

"That freak, he beat the shit out of me when I got him out!" She exclaimed, causing Petra to jump at the outburst. "He says something about _'needing a good fuck'_ (Eren grew a bit red while Levi shifted uncomfortably), throws me off the neck, and then proceeds to beat me until I lost consciousness!"

"Do you remember that?" Levi asked, glancing over at Eren.

He vigorously shook his head, faintly saying,"No...Hanji, I didn't do it, I don't-"

"You don't remember?!" She doubtfully shot at him, Eren jumped at that. Her face contorted in disgust, but then she relaxed against the pillows as though she'd been defeated. Her good hand that wasn't held in a sling went to her face to rub it. She sighed,"I even called you off on the memory loss...and if you truly can't remember, I can't blame you." But then her eyes flared as she glared at him. "...if I figure out this is a sick joke-"

"I wouldn't beat you for any reason!" He countered.

"Yes, but I'm just letting you know that I'm going out on a limb in trusting what you tell me." She looked over at the Corporal. "Levi, this is the _right_ Eren, right?"

Levi folded his arms, then decided to stand as he gave a slight wince at shifting his body over the bed. "Just like you said this morning, the kid needed a..." He paused briefly, trying to word himself properly as Hanji smirked a bit, catching on his slight struggle. "...needed a place to sleep...he just passed out on my floor, then woke up being oblivious to the shit he's done."

Hanji brought her hand under her chin, she did that whenever she was concentrating; she didn't press him on the specifics of what actually happened, he glad for that.

Levi then brought up,"Considering he maimed you as Erotic Eren, I guess your chances of reproducing with him are pretty low. When he approached me after transformation, it sounded like he was seeking for me specifically-"

"Can either of you explain this?" Erwin asked, gesturing to Hanji. "What's this _'Erotic Eren'_?"

"It's a stupid nickname to what Eren is after transformation. It started yesterday, his behavior was...different after I extracted him from his Titan myself. After appeasing his human calling-" Hanji gave another cryptic smile at this as he was choosing his words carefully, making sure he did include that it was himself that appeased Erotic Eren's desires. "-he passed out and woke up when we got home, he didn't remember a thing-"

"Yes, yes, I remember that part of what Hanji told me, of you being the subject of sex. It's coming back now," he said reassuringly, nodding at his memory being refreshed.

Levi gave a glare to Hanji, figuring that she retold the Commander of yesterday's encounter with the Erotic Eren, a sense of horror washed over him. While Levi saw nothing wrong with sex, there were some people that he'd rather keep certain things private.

Erwin continued. "Since he only displays...sexual behavior towards Levi, Hanji must be wrong about the procreation part. He would have engaged in intercourse with her the moment he got out of his Titan, instead, he goes to Levi, correct?" Both Hanji and Levi nodded though Petra and Eren were speechless. "He isn't meant to reproduce after being a Titan, just as she assumed."

"I was reaching that conclusion as well just now," Hanji agreed, though her shoulder's fell, disappointed,"so yeah, there goes my chances of having Titan children. I was so excited for them..."

"Did this..._'Other Eren'_ say anything in specific?" Erwin inquired. Levi was relieved at the man using a sensible alias for the son of a bitch.

"None for me," Hanji said in turn,"except for the _'good fuck'_ part."

Levi's eyes flickered to him. "There were a few things."

Their eyes, even Eren's, fell to the Corporal. "He speaks as though he were an entirely different person."

"A split personality?" Hanji suggested.

"In a way, yes, you can say that. I don't know how he can be two people in one body but I could care less. The other Eren knows something about Eren's true nature as a Titan; I think you'd be more interested in that more than sex," he told her. She perked up at this. "Often he tells me about the comforts of a good home and, of course,_ 'a body to needlessly fuck'_. But earlier, he says he comes from a village, some place that he says is beyond the Walls."

"Can I speak?" Eren uttered, Erwin gave a nod. "I'm sure of myself that I'm from Shiganshina, I don't know of any village beyond the Walls-"

"Interestingly enough, Erotic Eren is also fully aware of our struggle against Titans. Is this Erotic Eren an enemy?" His mind shot to being nailed atop his desk by the boy, he grimaced. "Personally, I say yes. And what he did to Hanji, he'll do it again to anyone else, harming whoever crosses his way."

"Unless you have an involvement," Erwin noted.

"...in a way, it's best that it's Levi than me," Hanji murmured,"he'll have an easier time keeping him in check than I would."

Levi doubted he could keep Erotic Eren in check, especially after what had happened.

It grew quiet for a moment until Erwin spoke up,"Eren, can you please give us a moment? Just wait by the door outside."

"Yes, sir," Eren responded, taking his leave.

When he was out the door and earshot, Erwin continued.

"We need to interrogate this_ '_Other Eren', as you and Hanji have the most experience encountering him, I want you two to lead the investigation on this. Hanji, since you've been incapacitated, I refuse to let you do anything yet; the Other Eren is dangerous and can't be dealt with alone. For now..."

He looked thoughtful.

"...for now, I want you-" He glanced at Levi. "-to keep close observations on him. It would be best for you to become more familiar with this Eren on a psychological level, that way, when the Other Eren comes around, you'd know him best instead of just trusting your gut."

Levi's brow twitched. "What?"

"I'm ordering you to know Eren better than his own friends. Understood?"

Levi gave an audible_ "tch"_ that followed,"I'm very well aware of which Eren is which by now."

"Yes, but still," he reasoned, an order was an order; Levi knew better than to question him.

"I'll do it."

"Good...and Petra," for first time she was addressed, she looked at him,"tell the rest of Levi's Squad to remain cautious as they always were, and please, keep this conversation to yourself for the meantime." She nodded. "You are free to leave."

-...-

The two Scouts left at the same time, though Erwin stayed by her bed. When the door closed, he faced her. She stared at him, curious. "Aren't you going?"

"No, I want to talk to you about your Titans...Sawney and Bean? I understand your rationale-" He lied. "-of wanting Titan children out of grief, so-"

She burst into tears at the mention of their names. She really was quite the animated woman, and thus, his hunch from Petra was right. He got up and sat beside her, silently thanking Petra for the tenth time of giving him medicine to counter the hangover.

"I just wanted replacements for them!" She wailed.

It was amazing that her obsession for Titans would go so far as willing to bear biological freaks for herself.

"We'll get new ones for you," he calmly told her as her good arm wrapped around one of his own. As a Commander, it was his duty to ensure his soldiers were well in their minds when they were not in the field. He took notice that as they, he and Petra, were waiting for Hanji to awaken, no one else had dropped by to visit her.

This made the man question if the woman had an actual social life outside of Titans...

-...-

Auruo scrunched up his nose. "Ugh...you could smell that, right?"

Erd gave a nod as they decided to head back to the mess hall. "Imagine how Mike feels."

The three of them looked up at Mike, the man's eyes were indifferent though there was a slight grimace across his face.

"I could still smell it," he reported, wiping his nose. "It's rather strong."

Gunther raised his arms and up and rested them behind his head. "Probably because the Corporal hadn't rutted anyone for a while."

They grew quiet at that. They were aware of what happened to the last person, and that was only a few years ago. It wasn't uncommon for anyone to die in their line of work; a comrade, a friend, a lover, even if it was just a partner of sorts, losing someone was just something that happened. Each of them knew that feeling, it happened to everyone.

* * *

**REGARDING EROTIC EREN:**

I will still be referring to Eren as _'Erotic Eren'_ in general, though Erwin seems to rather prefer a professional approach by calling him_ 'Other Eren'_; whichever character hears whatever title first, he/she will refer to the _Erotic Eren_ in that sense or, if there is an encounter of _Erotic Eren_ with anyone else, they will develop their own name.

I will, however (if you noticed in Chapter 6), **not** call Eren by _Erotic Eren_ when he is in his 'Erotic State'; his behavior and dialogue are enough to differentiate him from the normal Eren we all know and love.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

A/N: As the title mentions, and what the first chapter has, this will have a lot of references to horses, will be relevant later on.

Sorry for the late update, school's been throttling me left and right!

Please leave reviews~! I'm writing this story for you guys~! Thanks for those who already have given reviews~!

* * *

When he met Eren in the hallway, he sent him with Petra to return the boy to his room until further notice.

The Corporal spent the rest of the day mulling over what he had to do and what had occurred. He drew himself a bath and scrubbed away at his skin until it grew red under the cloth, he felt filthy, just utterly filthy. Even when the bath water had been drained, he still scrubbed, checking to ensure he go everything. When he got out, he shuddered at the sigh of his muddled desk, for once, he didn't feel like cleaning.

A great deal of his time was wasted away in his room where he recovered whatever he could, his ass going too sore from walking too early. As he laid in his bed, on his stomach, names crossed his mind, names he tucked away for years. Yet to every one of them he swore to eliminate Titans for their sake.

He swore to any who perished under his watch, but these, they were different.

He laid in bed, resting his head on his arms, watching the dying fire.

Officer Emil, Third Squad of the Right Wing. Ten years ago, KIA by 15 meter class.

_"Levi..."_

_"I promise to kill them in your name."_

Lance Corporal Gisbert. Seven years ago, MIA by unknown means._  
_

_"I promise to kill them in your name."_

Major Pierre, First Squad of Center. Five years ago, KIA Outside Shiganshina (Hours Before Fall of Wall Maria) by 8 meter class._  
_

_"I grow tired, sir..."_

_"I promise to kill them in your name."_

Their voices rose but he pushed them out of his mind. There were more in between, before, after, this was only to name a few.

They were soldiers, yes, though he knew them more than the average person would.

His eyes drifted closed.

-...-

The next day greeted the Scouting Legion with clear skies.

Erwin had decided for everyone a week's break after ensuring them the night before that Eren's Titan was only an experiment. Most had left for the nearby villages to socialize and frolic, do whatever it is that can be considered normal to them, a gift to unwind.

Levi could have went with them, as he normally would with Erwin and Hanji, but here he was at their headquarters. To him, his pastime consisted of doing some form of cleaning. He was one of those people who needed something to be occupied with other than resting.

Unfortunately, his ass was sore.

He couldn't do much without giving a visible wince (he had to admit it openly, prompting the need for assistance). With Eren at his heels, as ordered, he planned to have the boy do menial tasks. Repeatedly.

He had him clean his dungeon of a room first, ensuring it would be worthy to eat off of (like hell he would do that himself, it was unsanitary anyway). Next order came for him to clean his own living quarters. Luckily, it was only the desk and a few papers that suffered abuse (he made sure the kid polished the damn thing until it shined brighter than Commander Pixis's head); soon, by the afternoon, they were left with nothing to do.

The boy had stayed quiet for the most part, he was unwilling to engage in conversation. Levi didn't want to speak to him anyway, his mind still wrapping around at the thoughts of that son of bitch's other persona just fucking him senseless. He kept a distance from him and glared harder when the boy gave so much as a glance at him. His head throbbed a bit from being shoved against the desk too roughly; he would have been able to overpower Eren and yet he was bested too easily.

It was humiliating.

He had to think of something that the boy wouldn't be proficient at by normal standards. He had no other way to order him around. The small barks he gave during cleaning offered some self-esteem as the boy did whatever he was told. As he contemplatively looked out the window, as both sat at the mess hall, Eren's voice finally broke through.

"Sir?"

His brow twitched at acknowledgement. "...what?"

"I don't know if he was brought back, but I'm curious as to what happened to my horse."

Every Scout was given their own horse. A month was taken out after the initiation ceremony to spend time at the military stocks to find a steed compatible for the rest of their lives. It was almost like finding your life-partner. No rider went out into the field without their own, personal horse, the trust was just as important as the reliance on their Gears.

Horses already owned by Scouts, such as Hanji's sorrel, were recommended as they would cut the bonding time by a great margin, though the only drawback would be having to spend another month to desensitize them to the use of Gears.

Levi himself was given Noir by the King and even with the stallion, he had to learn the odds and ends with him. He was a hard one to figure out as he was schooled differently than the horses outside of the Inner District. For seven years the stallion had served his best and, as Levi hoped, would continue to do so. He would openly admit that he had grown attached to the Noir.

Eren's own horse was a bay, if he could recall. It stood at fifteen hands, just like the average horse, and had a bit of a fiery attitude. Unfortunately, it had fled and was never brought back to the Wall.

"...it's gone," Levi replied.

"Do we have any extra horse in stock?"

"Not at the moment, no."

He reminded him that Noir had to be worked on. As much as the stallion was a reliable creature, he had energy. Levi kept the horse on a daily regimen to ensure he would stay under control. Even just the simple exercise of lunging would suffice, and he would have had Eren do that yet his mind caught on to something else. He got up.

"Come, I'll have you ride Noir for yourself."

Eren's eyes widened at the idea.

-...-

Levi untethered the rope that acted as a boundary for Noir and the outside world.

The stallion stood in the stall, head lifting and ears picked forth in curiosity.

He stood by and handed Eren the halter and rope. "Let him sniff you first so he'll know who you are."

Eren gave a nod. He looked anxious, strangely enough.

"Why're you nervous?"

"It's just that he's big."

Big was an understatement.

Noir was, by far, the largest in the stables, just beating Erwin's own, King bred horse by an inch. His barrel seemed to fit two wooden barrels and his head took up the size of Levi's torso. He was, indeed, both majestic and intimidating, though he was a gentle behind all that. Eren cautiously approached, then cupped his hands over his mouth and breathed into his palms.

The black horse stretched his head out to Eren's hands, taking in his scent. His teeth chewed lazily, a sign he was comfortable. Eren bridled him and led him out of the stall.

"He's descended from the ancient breed of Andalusian horses, his blood carries what was called the '_Pure Spanish'_ blood that few hold today," he explained as they walked to the tack rooms. Noir was tied by the door, Levi gave him a pat on the shoulder as Eren disappeared into the room. "Only the King holds the last of the old breeds; this, and Erwin's, were one of the last stallions in his stock."

Horses commonly used by the Scouting Legion hailed from the Thoroughs and Viertel, though there were a select few who trotted a different way and held the smoothest seats; they were considered gaited, recently bred out of the necessity to have smoother horses to ride to battle. It was only ten years ago that they had began to resurrect old bloodlines through finding specific horses throughout the land.

Eren's was one of the few that had a smooth seat, it was a shame for the boy to loose such a unique horse.

Levi leaned against the post, Noir nibbled at his shirt but he let him.

Eren eventually came out with a blanket and saddle at hand. Both were hauled onto Noir's broad back as he told him,"The King let you have the last stallions?"

"There were none at the time, though we breed them every Spring, surely there's more now. It's been seven years."

He went back into the storage, then returned with a bridle. Noir automatically lowered his head, allowing Eren to safely place the leather straps around him and slide the bit properly in his mouth. The stallion lazily chewed at the metal as the boy took the reins and led the him out into the courtyard to follow Levi.

Some Scouts were lounging about the courtyard's tables, watching. Among them were Mike and most of Levi's personal squad.

Auruo looked ready to say something but he bit his tongue, catching the attention of the other men.

"Ugh! You got blood over the map!" Gunther exclaimed.

Petra was there as well, her hands taking out a cloth to hand over to Auruo.

He took it and hastily dabbed away at his mouth though Gunther took the cloth to clean off the map. "Hey!"

Levi ignored the rest of the conversation and went on, entering the vast field where several others were riding about with their own horses. He went off to a field that was clear of most people and horses, his finger pointed at the good space.

"I want you to walk Noir around this clearing," he instructed,"get used to his movement."

Eren nodded and mounted the stallion. As expected, Noir was quiet, he didn't move a hoof until the boy tapped his great barrel. Levi took to going the opposite direction towards a stone fence, the same one where he saw Eren and Hanji sitting only yesterday. He took to leaning against it, arms wrapped over his chest.  
For the next few minutes, conversation never passed, he only watched with Eren holding the reins.

He was tense at first, stiff as a board but as time passed, he saw Eren begin to relax in the seat, his posture growing natural with Noir.

"Now trot him, keep it collected," Levi called to him.

He saw Eren bunch up the reins and squeeze his legs. Noir immediately followed his words, his feet picking up and stepping to a steady beat. He was led in circles, diagonals, just easily flowing with him, it surprised Levi to see how well he handled the horse. The exercises of transitioning between collected and extended trots went on, then canters, then back to a walk; the work done wasn't enough to make Noir sweat but it kept him occupied, just as he needed to be.

The boy looked natural on him. His movements and hands acted accordingly to Noir. Levi expected that the boy wouldn't have the capability to keep the horse controlled as easily as he was doing so now.

It impressed him.

Eren was actually impressing him, but the nagging thoughts of the bastard within him plagued his mind. He watched the boy's hips roll with the saddle, keeping himself balanced and in perfect harmony with Noir. He heard the horse snort happily when he passed Levi.

"Ah, you're having him work with Noir? He handles him well."

Levi looked over towards the direction of the front gate to see Erwin. The Commander looked well in spirits, Levi didn't move. "Yeah, he does well."

Erwin took a place by Levi, though he sat upon the stones.

It was quiet between them until Levi broke the ice. "How's Hanji?"

"She's fine, had to send Armin to get her the books she wanted to keep herself occupied while I went off to see how you were," he conversationally responded. "It's driving her mad that she can't reproduce with Eren."

Levi snorted out,"What a pedophile."

"She just wants replacements."

His mouth hung open. "For...what?"

"Those Titans that were murdered-" He noticed Levi. "-I know, it's ridiculous."

"The woman needs someone to fuck her. I doubt anyone would want to at all, even that bastard Erotic Eren even had to beat her senseless. That's a stupid basis for wanting sex with the kid anyway."

Erwin let out a thoughtful "hm", then asked,"What about that Eren?"

"...what about him?"

"Did you learn anything of the Other Eren from him?"

Eren himself cantered passed them, then went away.

"He doesn't bear any semblance, I don't even have to ask at all. Keeps a distance from me, knows to keep quiet, nothing out of the ordinary," he sighed out of relief,"and I'd rather keep him that way for a while."

"Did he touch you?"

"...Erwin, I can't fucking sit."

The Commander's eyes grew wide at that, then shouting rose from the courtyard.

**"FIRE! FETCH THE WATER!"**

It prompted Erwin and Levi to run (though Levi lagged behind). When he arrived, he found the courtyard rousing up with soldiers rushing about with buckets. He saw Armin yelling, the one who announced said fire. No one questioned him as they bustled to the inside. Levi limped over to him, taking his arm and asking,"What's on fire?"

"H-Hanji's lab! I went to get books that Hanji wanted, then I found the place in blazes! I-if we don't stop the fire, the whole thing is going to blow up!" He frantically exclaimed.

"How long ago was this?" Erwin demanded.

"Just now!"

"Did you see anyone!?"

He shook his head, eyes wide. "Not at all!"

"Stay with Eren, I'll take care of this," Erwin ordered to Levi after a moment of deliberation.

He understood the mans thought. Whoever could have done this may have done it to distract everyone from Eren, maybe even snatch him away when they weren't looking. He limped out of the courtyard and found Eren, though he dismounted and was leading a suddenly anxious Noir to the gate. It relieved Levi to see them both.

-...-

"...so she figured it out about Eren?"

"Looks like it."

He showed the notes that held scribbles.

It took a moment for him to read it all, barely catching the gist at the first few bullet points, then understanding the entire analysis when he pieced it together.

"...that's just notes on Corporal's dick."

"Yeah, but you know how much the kid is into that sort of thing."

A laugh.

"True."

"Well...you know the drill."

His hand tossed a lamp onto an oil-slicked surface of a desk, it trailed off and into the rest of the lab.

Armin only arrived a few minutes later to open the door to see the place partially engulfed by flames.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** As dead or alive0013 requested, for future chapters (and to be fair to you all) I am going to put up manga spoiler warnings throughout the course of the story all the while building up a plot on my own with Erotic Eren's concepts (as you all demand for). I have already set who the arsonists are as they are canon to the manga's own antagonists, this cannot be avoided, unfortunately.

Keep up the reviews! You give me the drive! Thank you again!

Will be updating "Unfettered" by the end of the week, I can only update this story faster for your demands. Anyway, I will also be working on multiple one-shots for the SnK Kinkmemes.

* * *

"What's on fire?" Eren inquired as they took their spots, or at least the boy did, on the stone fence.

Levi had been in a sour mood all morning. Especially what had supposedly passed yesterday, Eren knew better than to question anything and only follow him, as directed. Even as noon came, this attitude persisted until they got to Noir, in turn, he saw the man slowly relax himself, growing less tense in his movements, even in his words.

He wasn't a man of expression but Eren had learned to pick up on things, not all the little things, just enough to notice a change.

For the most part, he looked like he had grown weary as though he were eying every move Eren made. He didn't wince nor did he say anything, he simply glared with a fixation on his hands.

Even now, as he sat on the wall, Levi was watching his hands play with Noir's reins.

"Hanji's lab," Levi gruffly told him,"imagine how much shit she's going to lose when she finds out about it. Her lab has many years worth of research, even though the information looks useless from failed experiments, I'll willingly admit that they all have a great importance."

"...isn't it strange?" Eren asked out of the blue, though it was meant for his thoughts alone.

Ever since they brought out Noir, Levi had been more willing to hold a conversation with him. This morning was spent in silence save for the idle orders to clean various things.

Levi finally looked at him, locking gazes with him. "Hm?"

"It's strange that someone sets fire to her lab. You're only here to keep watch over me," Eren began to surmise,"yet no one's made an attempt to take me or do anything close to such as of right now. It's like the Titan experiments all over again; the information is being taken away, this time, it's her lab. All those documents from decades worth of studying, all gone, like someone doesn't want her to figure something out."

He shifted around in his spot.

"That's something noteworthy," he mused. "And if their purpose is to only destroy information then they must be among us."

Eren remembered when Erwin stooped low over his shoulder that day, asking him what he saw. At first, at a literal sense, Eren saw two corpses of Titans evaporating into nothing with Hanji's screams filling the complex. Now, upon hearing Hanji's lab being set aflame, it dawned on him that the perpetrators belong in the Scouting Legion. How else would they be precise about where to strike them?

"You're smarter than you let on," Levi praised him.

It made his heart flutter to hear him say something that was close to a compliment.

"Thank you, sir," he said.

Noir snorted happily and rubbed the poll of his head against Levi's shoulder.

-...-

The chaos hadn't died down until the sun began to disappear behind the hills.

They were short on men so it took time. Only when a handful of the Scouts returned from their village outing were they immediately put to work on cleaning up the lab and whatever damage that was made.

Levi ensured that the Titan-shifter was placed in his room which, thankfully, hadn't sustained any damage nor soot from the fire. It was situated an entire corridor away from the lab but still, dirt could travel far. After he locked the door and stowed away the key, he saw Armin loitering about around the corner, squatting at the ground with Mikasa standing by his side, leaning over to see what he was looking at.

"Cadet Arlert, Cadet Ackerman," Levi addressed him as he took to approach him.

Several people were clearing out the damaged tables and equipment, though they were taking great care with whatever was salvageable.

Armin looked up from his spot, he gave a quick salute. "Corporal."

Mikasa, however, had taken to leaving them at the sight of the man. Levi was about to admonish he though he felt too tired to deal with her. As her retreating form lost its attention, Armin sheepishly apologized,"Sorry, she's been foul since yesterday."

He ignored that comment. "You were the only one down here at the time of the fire, yes?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, he stood up while holding a shredded piece of paper. "There are only two entrance ways into this particular corridor from the surface...one from the barracks and one from near the library. Whoever went passed here took to using the library entrance, I didn't see anyone going down my way." He offered the piece of paper to Levi, the Corporal looked it over. "Is this one of Hanji's notes?"

Levi did his best to read it by torchlight, it was sprawled like chicken-scratch but certainly recognizable. "Definitely. She dots her 'i's with hearts sometimes, especially if it's focused on her own Titans."

"It must have trailed after them," Armin thoughtfully muttered.

"We'll be setting an investigation soon to look into this. No doubt Hanji is going to lose her shit when she hears about-"

The young blond shook his head. "Commander Ewrin ordered us not to say a thing to her. I managed to save the books she wanted and brought them up to give her a distraction; it was most of her paperwork and reference books that have sustained the most damage."

Eren was right about the information being destroyed. She may have wandered onto knowledge not meant for humanity to know of. As he held the piece of parchment, he carefully thought back to two days ago. He remembered that there were people around him; a good majority had hoods on save for those he recognized.

_'...maybe someone saw, whoever it was, they know of this. All of it. And we have them running amok in the Scouting Legion, this is bullshit.'_

"Arlert, what are your thoughts on this?" He inquired. "First, Hanji's Titans are slain. Second, her lab is set aflame. Third, we may as well lose Hanji or, at worst, Eren."

"It may be a guess," Armin began, arms folding and hand going to his chin,"but at first, I got the impression that the Military Police would have botched the Titan experiments out of retaliation for losing Eren in the trial. It held true until now, I mean...how can a soldier of the MP know the location of Hanji's lab in this castle? It hadn't been used for decades, untouched and all. So...there must be people inside our system doing this."

Levi raised a brow at the younger boy's intellect.

_'Sharp as a whip.'_

He was surprised.

The boy was smart, perhaps too smart. As he stared at him, he wondered if he, for some ungodly reason, were the one behind it. He would have to remain cautious not only towards him but also to all of the new recruits. Records of where they all came from were lost or somewhat unrecoverable after the Battle of Trost, and even if he pinpointed their origins it wouldn't tell him who they truly were.

He surmised that the culprits were not from within the Walls. It was only a hunch. Humans wouldn't live out in the outer lands, even if they tried they wouldn't survive unless they were like Eren.

_'Erotic Eren mentioned 'we'. There ought to be more of him. He's an enemy to mankind, no doubt his brethren would most likely have the same preferences.'_

They would most likely be Titan-shifters.

_"You know...back in my village, we rarely have such luxuries- a bed, a roof, and even a fire. Toiling in the dirt like animals, barely feeding off what we can find..."_

He brought himself to look back at Armin.

"Tell me, Arlert, what do you consider a luxury to live before entering the military?" Levi asked of him out of the blue.

Armin tilted his head a bit. "Sir?"

"Just answer with whatever you think is a luxury."

"Um," he stammered over the question,"I'd say books. Reading about the outside world and beyond, that's something I loved to do. The same with Eren."

He nodded.

"That'll be all," he concluded, Armin gave a brief salute, keeping it until Levi walked away.

Over the course of hours, his limping had lessened though his ass was still in pain. Throughout the chaos, it never occurred to him to fetch anesthetics from the infirmary. He did just that, walking about corridors and stairs, eventually getting himself into the hallway that led him there. He ran into two recruits; if he remembered correctly, one was Christa and the other was...some other cadet.

"You two."

They stopped in their tracks to stand at attention to him; they were walking away from the infirmary.

Christa, oddly, had a bandage around her hand.

"What happened to you?"

"I cut my hand on glass while helping her move some glassware in the lab." When he raised a brow, she hastily added,"We didn't say anything to Hanji, she's sleeping right now, thank goodness."

The taller cadet uttered,"We're lucky none of her chemicals blew up. Would've been a nightmare to clean."

Levi gave a contemplative "hm". He hadn't seen the lab just yet, he made a mental note to look into it later. "You two were from the 104th trainee squad, yes?" Both gave a curt nod. "Just out of curiosity, what would you have considered a luxury before signing up for the military?"

Christa took a thoughtful moment, trying to decide for herself though the other immediately answered,"Love."

It prompted the smaller girl to blush furiously, she managed to squeak out,"Companionship!" as her friend grabbed her teasingly.

The way they acted around one another was natural, obviously spelling out to him that there was something going on between them. He cleared his throat and they immediately collected themselves. Without offering a word to snidely remark their seemingly affectionate behavior, he continued on. He swore he heard them throw themselves into a fit of giggles when his hand reached the door to the infirmary.

There was nothing but the loud snores from a woman sleeping soundly in her bed.

An obnoxious snore came from a book that had apparently fallen over her head and covered her face.

_'How disgusting.'_

The medic had left for town to fetch supplies, and that was only an hour ago. Hanji wasn't critically injured so she could be left for decent periods at a time.

He strode to the cabinet where most of the medicine was kept. Upon opening the doors, he was barraged by numerous labels of bottled liquids that were organized according to their affects. He searched for the right bottle but found that it were placed at the highest shelf, much to his annoyance. He glanced around and found a chair that was situated by Hanji's bed.

Rolling his eyes, he went over to it though he was doing so carefully.

God forbid she would awaken to find him in need of a boost. She wouldn't let it go for a week. Her incapacitation was a blessing, she wouldn't be spreading rumors of the current situation between himself and Eren; not the whole Titan issue, she'd just be gloating about the fucking part of...well, fucking. He carried the chair to the cabinet and stepped up to take the bottle he desperately needed.

Just as he stepped down, he heard that bitch chuckle,"How'd I know you'd be needing the pain killer? Oh, right, you were limping the last time I saw you."

"...you fucking placed it up there on purpose," he deadpanned her, taking the seat and bottle to her bedside. She nodded happily as slid the book off her face, then she proceeded to laugh as he uncorked the bottle and drank the contents. It was small, perhaps the size of his hand, but the amount left was enough for him. When he finished, she was still laughing. "Fuck you, I hope that Erotic Eren gets his hands on you again."

She ceased her laughter as she propped herself on the pillows and gave a longing sigh,"Not before I get my hands on him."

"Didn't you learn your lesson? You can't fuck him, he doesn't even like women. Besides, what's with you getting into having kids all of a sudden?"

He hit a sensitive nerve there. Her usually broad smile faded. "Don't you know what it's like to lose children?"

"You had children?" He almost believed her, he would have apologized if she hadn't mentioned those two, motherfucking-

"Sawney and Bean!" She exclaimed.

_'Oh hell no.'_

He tossed the empty bottle to a wastebasket nearby. "Those can't be the basis to have children as replacements! God forbid, should you ever reproduce-"

"-we would have insurance in case Eren dies!" She finished for him.

Putting it in that perspective, he almost bought her reasoning, just almost.

"Have some other whore bear his child," he reasoned firmly,"that way you wouldn't have to go through the trouble of having his offspring."

She quieted down...then slowly, she chuckled to herself.

"What _now_?"

"That's the same thing Eren suggested before I forced him to turn into a Titan," she said. "A whore. It can't be any other person, it has to be a whore. It's funny how you two thought of it."

Levi perked up at this. They both thought of the same thing. It couldn't be coincidence and yet it was. "Hm...may as well tie him down to a table and offer the Erotic Eren a virgin sacrifice to bear the end of humanity."

"Like a Satanic sacrifice?"

"...why do I feel like you shouldn't know that?" He skeptically questioned her. He didn't know what Satan was, perhaps he was the old god of legends or some bullshit madman from millenniums ago. At least she read something else other than Titans, that was certainly news to him.

"There's a lot of things I shouldn't know," she sighed, though she sounded somber.

_'How ironic.'_ She willingly admitted the very thing that had brought a risk to the Scouting Legion.

She clapped her hands together and rubbed them enthusiastically; she wasn't the kind to keep conversations in one place should they dull. "Well, I have a device planned out to hold down Erotic Eren, here, some sketches."

Her good hand reached out to her legs were some papers were let loose on the sheets. She handed it to him and he looked them over. They each had a great resemblance to torture devices.

"...we have to interrogate him, not kill him."

"He'll regenerate either way," she said casually, waving a hand,"just choose a design you like and I'll get started with drawing more plans for it. Anyway, the first thing you got there on your left is what I call the Hogtie; you put Eren on a chair and tie his legs over his-"

"I had enough of you for tonight," he muttered, getting up. She suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

"Hold on, fine, you'll figure out the rest of it later, right? You're a smart man, yeah?"

He tried to wrench away his hand but she held a strong grip. When she received his undivided attention, he asked,"Do you _not_ want me to go?"

"Erwin had been gone since noon and hadn't come back yet, and Armin only dropped by a few hours ago for my books. The kid didn't stay long and those girls that came by earlier, well...let's just say they had too much fun with the bandages. Point is, I've been alone most of the day. I'm not in my lab (_'It's been burned up,'_ Levi inwardly thought) and Moblit went on leave with Nanaba for the village, I hadn't had anyone to talk to. Plus, Armin got the lame books."

He glanced at her collected pile on the nightstand. Most of the titles were of fantasy novels and what looked like occult books. How the hell did the boy get a hold of those?

Reluctantly, he sat back down. "If you talk about Titans, I'm going to smack you upside the head and leave."

"Alright, challenge accepted."

When she was challenged, she would deliver.

The first words she spoke were,"How was Eren? Did you interact with him like Erwin said you should?"

Levi folded his arms over his chest and comfortably leaned against the backrest. The medicine had taken its place, his ass was able to be...an ass safe to sit on. He said,"I had him clean his room, my room, and a couple other things. Then I got him on Noir-" She had that stupid smile. "-to ride by himself."

"Aw...was he good at riding?"

"Proficient," he commented. He wanted to tell her of Eren speaking his mind quite adequately, but it would require for him to slip out the fact that her lab had been the victim of an arson.

Their conversation drifted about.

Somewhere around the next hour, she said,"You need to talk to him to get to know him, not just having him do idle things. I...agree with Erwin on that, I mean, it'll save us the trouble of trying to sort out which Eren is which should the need arise. Well, we'd be able to tell if the kid is performing fellatio or something, but not in front of others when he's not trying to screw you. So far, you have the most experience with him than I do. Where is he anyway?"

"I locked him up, just like always."

She frowned. "Levi, he may be a Titan-sifter but he's still human, don't fucking leave him down there by himself. My next experiment is going to rely on you having some sort of confidence in him. I dunno exactly what you two did yesterday that led to sex but it sounds like you're just doing your best to avoid him."

"You're making it sound like I should fall in love with him," he scoffed.

"I'm not asking for that, just know him well enough to genuinely trust him. Think of Pierre or Emil-"

He glared at her, sharply warning her,"Hanji..."

She ran her good hand through her hair, even though she was apologetic she reasoned,"You knew them better than the others."

"Tch."

She was right about them.

-...-

Levi left around midnight.

Her words stuck to him as his feet brought him to Eren's door.

He glared at it. How could he trust the very person who shared the same body with that violating son of a bitch? It sickened him, it was like giving a killer a gun and asking said killer not to shoot anyone. Reluctantly, he shoved the key into the hole and twisted it, opening the door and letting in torchlight.

A streak of light entered the room to illuminate the sleeping face of Eren. He looked peaceful at rest, somewhat admirable; he struck a match and candle to watch him. When the boy didn't stir, he left the candlelight near the nightstand. Levi traced himself to the door, then he closed the it, locking it behind him.

His eyes drifted to the soot that lined the floor from the various bootprints of cadets and officers that had spent the afternoon cleaning what they can. He went for the lab to find the door ajar. Normally the place would be closed, even if Hanji were inside she'd keep the door in place.

He entered and lit a nearby lamp on the wall to see the damage.

As he saw earlier, the wooden tables were burnt and taken out, along with the usual test tubes and pipes, jars and glasses; most of her equipment sustained heavy damage. However, just as Christa's unknown companion said, the storage cabinets containing chemicals were left unharmed. To the back was another door left open, it was her study; from the looks of it, it bore the brunt of the fire.

He peered in to see the usually cluttered office of papers and books to be nothing but ashes. Even her desk looked ready to fall apart. Whoever did this was out of their fucking minds or, as Armin and Eren suspected, trying to prevent the researcher from figuring things out.

A cough came from the lab area.

He turned to see Mike.

"Ah, Corporal...thought I smelled you here," Mike greeted him.

The man had a good nose. He should sniff something out. "Did Erwin send you here?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. And to answer anything, other than you, I can't smell anything but the ashes. Fire burned up even the air, but it seems like it was started from the oil of a lamp, it's strongest over in the office." He sniffed the air once more and shook his head. "You don't suppose...someone from us has done this?"

"You're the third person to say that," Levi commented, stepping for the door,"I leave you to your work."

"Yes...good night, Corporal."

"Night."

He exited the lab and was back in the corridor.

As he approached Eren's door, a figure was crouched in the torchlight, unmoving though he could see hands busying themselves at the knob as though it were trying to open it, though eventually she stopped and peered through the keyhole. Stealthily, without making a sound, he advanced on the intruder.

_'I wonder...'_

When he drew close, he saw that a red scarf was wrapped around the individual's neck; it was Mikasa. Just as he crept quietly towards her, she stood up and walked away as though she had lost interest in what was going on inside the room. He was about to call to her but he was oddly drawn to go for the door. As her form disappeared at the stairs leading to the barracks, he knelt down to the very spot she was at and peered through the keyhole.

The candle he lit and left earlier was still there, it was dim but he could make out what was going on.

Eren was out of bed and had his back turned to the door. He was leaning over the table, his right arm moving left and right as though he were writing something. It went on for a few moments, then he reached over to the left to turn a page and continue to write.

The process went on for several minutes with the boy only taking a break to dab his pen in ink. Nothing indicated anything that was out of the ordinary save for his constant scribbling passed midnight. He went on, then suddenly, he stopped. He closed the book that he had been writing in, the pages snapped with a soft thud.

Holding the book, he stood up and knelt onto his desk.

Above the desk were the blocks of stone that lined the walls. His fingers scraped at one of the edges before pulling a block out; it was just a slab, not a solid block. Within the wall was an empty space though he filled it up with the book and then covered it up with the slab.

Levi could have barged into the room at that moment and confront the boy, he could have, he nearly did but Eren reached over for the candle and doused it, causing the room to grow dark. Following the shuffle of footsteps from behind the door, he heard sheets rustle and then a content sigh.

Perhaps Hanji was right.

He made a mental note that Eren should be watched at night.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm just going to assume that the older Scouts do not know the other recruits besides the main trio (Armin, Eren, and Mikasa); they can place faces to who the newbies are in the Scouting Legion but not put names on them, hence Levi's inability to know who Ymir was.


	10. Chapter 10

`I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** *vomiting rainbows*

Oh? 100 reviews!? OH...MY GOD! I believe you guys are in for a reward soon (worry not, sex shall come...along with more Erotic Eren).

Regarding what I posted back in Chapter 5, your review are...like, little bits of chocolate you find in the bitter taste of life. You guys, sorry that I repeat myself, have helped me a lot. Show your support and leave more, this story's continuation was demanded by you and can only go on if you speak up (lurkers are welcomed). Thank you for the faves and follows. Also, reviews offer the best feedback; whatever you want to happen may even be placed into the story if I find it worth putting in, again, this madness was born from your desires.

Thank you for your support!

**ALSO, REGARDING THE PLOT:** (for technical readers)

So technically, Levi's squad is supposed to be dead, the Female Titan fucks shit up, etc. Well, by the power of fan fiction, I changed that reality in the first chapter. They did indeed go out for an expedition beyond Wall Rose but they did not, by any means, do it for the sake of capturing the Female Titan. They just go out and they just do it, no reason is stated and nor will there be. There's no feasible way to fit this story into the storyline except for using characters and playing off of plot from the main storyline. It is fan fiction.

This story does branch off but hey, you wanted more of an Erotic Eren plot so here, I shall give. Enjoy~!

**WARNING, SLIGHT MANGA SPOILER FROM CHAPTER 18.5**

* * *

"How do you feel?"

"Um...I feel fine."

"Alright, how about there?"

She pointed at his crotch with her pen.

Eren's eyes grew wide.

"Er...Hanji, I'm not doing this again."

Levi had left the boy in her care for the morning as he stated he had something else to do and he couldn't keep an eye on Eren. Both parties were reluctant at first to be in the same room. One was Eren, for he feared she would try to run an uncalled for experiment without his knowing.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything, I'm injured, remember?"

On Hanji's side, she only feared for him to arbitrarily lash out at her should she offend him.

Hanji was propped up on the pillows, sitting up so that she could write an a bundle of other pillows given to her.

As though to give her pun, he shook his head. "No, not really."

She gave a dry laugh. "Well ha...ha. C'mon, be truthful, how do you feel down there?"

"I don't feel anything," he said, irked by her question. It disturbed him even more when she jotted down his response. As she scribbled away, he asked her,"Why did you do it to me? Force me to be a Titan? You could have asked and I would have done it." She paused, thinking, her pen going to her chin to tap it thoughtfully. "Well?"

"Well...you need a reason to transform, right? If I threatened you, you'd have an intensive. My goal was to get Erotic Eren out of you, as a result, I had to scare you." She gave a nervous laugh. As of late, her behavior had been erratic, as though she were hiding something from him. Her laughs were superficial. "Worked well, a bit too well, Erwin was right about something going to be backfired."

Eren pursed his lips slightly and sat back in his chair.

He hadn't been seeing much of his friends, at least not as often as he hoped. His interactions have been limited to Levi, his personal squad, and Hanji, with the occasional Erwin here and there. It wasn't that he was complaining, each of them had their perks and rarely gave him problems, save for Levi ever since this whole identity fiasco.

His thoughts were snapped when she asked,"Do you have any sort of attraction to either gender?"

Eren's eyes grew wide. That moment with Levi a few nights ago flashed quickly in his mind. "Yes."

"Aaaaany preference?" She raised her eyebrows, a sign for him to continue, he stumbled over his words. His heart began to pound at thinking of the Corporal's length. Oh, why was he thinking about it now? So suddenly too...

"I would say...um, I would say-"

She suddenly asked,"How about Levi?"

He tried to collect himself. "I admire him," then he added quickly,"as Corporal! Corporal! I admire him as Corporal!"

Hanji gave a half nod as though agreeing with him. "A sign of respect or something else?"

"Respect, of course!"

"Hm'm, sure," she hummed with a bit of doubt, scribbling away at her paper. He swore that he was beginning to shake, just slightly.

_'This woman, what's with the questions all of a sudden?'_

As she dotted the last period, she looked up at him with a smile. "On another note, I gotta ask you, do you have dreams?"

He raised one brow, his nervousness seemingly gone. Dreams? He thought back to the last one he had from about a week ago. It was about him getting utter shit beaten out of him by Levi. He thought carefully, then nodded slowly. "Sometimes...sometimes they come as nightmares." She made an understanding nod, though this time, she didn't write anything down. "Sometimes they're about Trost, other times...I get my mother."

"Carla Yaeger?" She must have read that off of his registration papers.

"...yeah," he sadly admitted.

She frowned and looked away towards her papers. "Sorry if I touched something there."

"It's alright. I could...talk about her if you want."

Hanji held up both hands and shook her head. "Ah, no, you don't have to. I'm not comfortable about talking about my own mother myself. Eh-heh..."

"Is she alive?"

The pen in Hanji's hand snapped in half, he winced at it. "No, she's in an asylum."

_'Why does it sound so fitting?'_

Her nervous laughter filled the room. As she scratched the back of her head, he watched her carefully as the door burst open to reveal Christa and Ymir. Hanji looked over at them as Ymir rushed Christa to the nearest bed. Immediately dropping the conversation, Hanji spoke out to them,"Cut yourself, girlie?"

"Um, yeah," Christa sheepishly admitted.

"Goodness, if I didn't know better, it sounds like you're screwing with my equipment." The three recruits had eyes that nearly bulged from their sockets, their movements (and even breathing) ceased at her joke. The sad part was that it wasn't a joke. Each of them knew the truth, they didn't want her to explode out of the blue. Much to their relief, she shrugged. "Eh, it's coming out of your pay-check if you I see you again."

In truth, some recruits were allowed access to her lab to assist Hanji. Christa was given one of the keys to help, along with Armin, as she and him passed as one of the top ten in their class; Hanji only allowed certain recruits to come in. This fact was overlooked for a brief moment between the three Cadets, just briefly.

Ymir went over to the cabinets and took out disinfectant and gauze.

Eren began to stand up. "Do you want me to help?"

"No, it's fine," Ymir responded,"I did this yesterday."

"Yeah, you also did her on the bed," Hanji remarked.

The usually stoic girl blushed at the comment, pausing midway as she was cleaning up Christa. The poor girl looked ready to faint but Ymir held her up. As though to spare themselves the embarrassment of this being told to a guy present in the room, Ymir snapped,"Corporal is looking for Eren, we passed him in the basement on the way up here."

"Oh, sounds pretty kinky-"

"Hanji, can you not?" He begged her as she had that foolish smile on her face. She only began to laugh. He wondered if Erotic Eren had knocked all of her screws loose. He got up to his feet and headed for the door as Ymir dressed Christa's hand with the gauze; apparently, both hands had cuts on them, he didn't ask why but he went by them as the young girl got up.

He went out the door though he came back for a moment to see Christa getting up; Ymir had done quick work during Hanji's laughter. He forgot to ask here where Levi was.

"Oh, Ymir, where is he?"

"In your room."

"Thanks."

The three of them exited, though Hanji suddenly became quiet.

-...-

Levi sat in the same spot he saw Eren sit in last night.

Finally he could comfortably sit on his ass without wincing.

His arms were folded over his chest as he absently stared at the slab that sat on the desk.

That morning he sent Eren to accompany Hanji. Why? To pilfer through his shit of course. Wouldn't you be suspicious? Levi made sure that the door was closed when he began his search. He stepped up to the desk, fingered the edges of the supposed slab, successfully found it, and then brought it down. Much to his utter frustration, he was greeted with nothing but an empty space.

He stared at the hole in the wall. No, he glared. He fucking glared.

_'Eren is doing shit behind our backs.'_

Levi would have understood if it were a journal of his, thoughts to put down, emotions to express; he wasn't against writing. The fucking issue he had was that Eren would go to great lengths to hide it. Whatever the importance was, it better be pretty worth it for Levi to inwardly bitch about it to himself. Normal people would hide personal thoughts in shelves or under their beds.

_'Who the fuck hides shit in the wall?'_

He got up and went out, only to be greeted by the same two girls he saw walking the hallway from the infirmary. Christa had a bleeding hand, she held it to her chest as her taller companion guided her, he called out to them, damn well knowing where they were going to go. "Hey, you, go tell Eren to meet me here right now."

"Yes, sir!" The taller girl replied over her should, then they were jogging up the steps.

Levi retreated back into Eren's room and looked around. He scoured the bookshelf, pulling every book, at least two dozen, one by one to see its contents. Most of it were texts about the outer lands. How ever the boy got a hold of them were beyond his care but he made a mental note of it as it would be a topic he could engage with Eren and, most possibly, be able to counter Erotic Eren with.

As he rifled through the books, finding pages worn and not recent as he expected, he took notice of himself learning more of the kid. He thought back to yesterday when he spoke about horses and breeds, how he was able to connect with him in that subject. He let out a thoughtful 'Hm', wondering why he had become fixated on him all of a sudden.

_"I'm not asking for that, just know him well enough to genuinely trust him. Think of Pierre or Emil-"_

_He glared at her, sharply warning her,"Hanji..."_

_She ran her good hand through her hair, even though she was apologetic she reasoned,"You knew them better than the others."_

Ah, the power of suggestion.

_"Levi, he may be a Titan-sifter but he's still human, don't fucking leave him down there by himself."_

Well, he realized that as he went through the old texts, he realized that Eren was, indeed human. Monsters such as Titans don't dream, do they? They don't have goals save for devouring all humans. Having a dream, a goal in life, was what made a person a person, to be conscious of their achievements, to glorify them.

_'Didn't the kid say he wanted to travel beyond the Walls, therefore, he chose the Scouting Legion?'_

A knock came on the door, it was followed by Eren's voice,"Corporal?"

He placed the book back to the shelf. "I'm in here, Eren."

The hinges creaked as he entered. "You sent for me?"

"I was going through your room," he blatantly told him, he wanted to see his reaction. If he stammered, it would have to do with the book he was writing in last night. Amazingly, Eren didn't react.

"With everything going on around here, I wouldn't blame you for going through my things," he said as though it were normal.

Levi gestured to the hole in the wall. "Well, can you explain that?"

Eren's shoulders dropped, he had a blank stare at it though he confoundedly said,"I'm hoping you can explain that to me. Why's there a hole in my wall?" He dumbly pointed at it. "Did I do that?"

"Last night, yeah, you were writing in some book. Did you take it out or something?" He pressed on.

"I don't write in journals!" He said openly, hands going up in defense. "And I definitely don't hide things in walls!"

Levi began to round at him. "Kid, you're starting to get me paranoid. If Erotic Eren can get up and walk around at night without you having the need to transform, we're going to have a headache on our hands and I'll have to spend my nights worrying about him breaking through my door and..." He trailed off, going quiet. He went to go sit in Eren's chair once more, he let out an exasperated sigh, he brought his tone down,"...look, I won't be the only one in danger. If someone other than Hanji has a run in with that bastard, they would wind up dead by your hand and you won't even know it. Then we get issues, then we get a hearing, then we'd most likely lose you."

Eren looked about as though words were appearing before him and he were trying to choose the best ones.

Again, he repeated,"I don't know of anything of a journal, nor the hole in the wall...and if you want me to be honest, the only thing I would hide are books about the world outside. Back in Shinganshina (maybe everywhere else, I dunno if it was limited there), Armin would ask me to hide books because the Military Police would do regular checks on his grandfather's bookstore.

"The collections I managed to get over the years, in that shelf, are mine and Armin's, they're all illegal and, now that I have my own place in the Scouting Legion, we can safely read them in peace. Of course, no MP would drop by any time soon, so I found it alright to keep them here."

It sounded like Eren to make such a statement. He considered his words when he remembered Armin's._ "I'd say books. Reading about the outside world and beyond, that's something I loved to do. The same with Eren."_

Erotic Eren would care for comfort, not books.

"...Eren, what do you consider a luxury before entering the military?" He inquired after a long period of silence. Eren closed the door behind him and then went to his bed.

"Being in the Scouting Legion to go beyond the Walls..."

Pause.

"...and being by your side to fight Titans."

He raised a brow. It was honest admiration. A humble one at that.

He knew everyone worshiped him. He grew tired of it. He wasn't a saint, nor would he ever be. A frown crossed his lips, though he rubbed it away with the back of his hand. He stood up and then picked up the stone slab. Inserting it back in place, he got off the table and looked over at Eren. The boy was staring at him, eyes no longer flaring with the thought of persecution.

Though he looked apprehensive.

"...it's been a while since someone told me that they wanted to fight by my side," he admitted to him. He repeated what he heard before,"_'It'd be an honor, I'll do my best, I'm at your command, Corporal'_ and some other bullshit about worship from the peasants. I'm just a man myself, not a god, and I'm apparently good at what I do." He stooped low. "I'm only considered mankind's strongest soldier because I'm the only survivor who comes out of my squads about eighty percent of the time. With time comes experience, I didn't come out at the top perfect at first, I just got better at living through it."

He couldn't believe he was letting himself out, but the thought of Eren holding him to high regards had touched him, in a way.

He looked away.

"Keep that between you and me, alright?"

"Yes, sir."

His eyes drifted to the door, more particularly, he stared at the knob where the keyhole was located directly under._ 'Mikasa.'_

"Are you aware Mikasa watches you at night?"

Eren sheepishly uttered,"...as strange as it seems, she tends to do that, even when we were kids she did it. It makes her feel better or something so I don't mind it; I got used to it but sometimes, it kind of bothers me. She only does it before going to bed, it's not like she's an owl all night."

"Your whole schema on brother and sister relationship gets kind of obscure if you think about it."

"What can you do? She watches out for me as best she can."

"Doesn't matter, I find it fucking creepy."

-...-

"Sorry I'm late!" Moblit exclaimed when he burst through the door. Both he and Nanaba had boxes in their arms, following them was the medic. He quickly settled the contents down and went to Hanji's bedside. "I heard what happened, are you ok?"

She was napping when he came by that afternoon. She awoke to his clamor and smiled at seeing a familiar face. "I could be better, got throttled is all."

"Ma'am, in all due respects, you shouldn't do an experiment of that proportion all on your own!"

Nanaba settled the box down and went to clap a hand on his shoulder. She explained to Hanji,"He nearly lost his head worrying about you."

Moblit had left a few days before the incident under the impression that she would be alright on her own. He was probably the one person who worried excessively of the Major, more often than a normal person would. Hanji merely waved him off, not minding he assisted her closely during experiments. She'd love to see his reaction if she told him of her latest endeavors.

"As usual," she nodded.

Nanaba voiced in,"Hey, Hanji, I heard about something catching on fire. I didn't know what it meant so I thought you were probably involved-"

Then Levi came by right at the dime. Just before she finished it, he cleared his throat to say,"We need privacy."

She rubbed her eyes as the man shooed Moblit and Nanaba out. They both exited, thus leaving her with the Corporal. He took the chair Eren had earlier. "Hm...I liked it better when Moblit interrupted my nap."

"If you can sit up on your own, you can fucking talk to me," he deadpanned her. She was showing a drastic improvement in her mobility. Perhaps by the next day or so she would be walking on her own, albeit facing pain. She rolled her eyes teasingly. "Did you learn about Eren here?"

"Well, he isn't horny-" He glared at her. It probably took all of his willpower to not hit her. "-uh, I mean he's relatively normal, psychologically. However, he does tend to get a bit flustered when I brought you into the conversation."

"Flustered, hn."

"Yeah, deep respect, or so he says, for you. I imagine Erotic Eren not having that at all?"

"Not one, fucking bit."

She gave a thoughtful hum. "Ah, yes, you said he fails to understand personal space..." They sat there for a moment, the conversation nearly dying but she perked it up once more. "...you ought to talk to him about his nightmares, most of them revolve around his mother. She was done in during Wall Maria, he has some guilt about her so I think it's best to mull things over with him."

"Hm...mothers are quite the beginning of everyone," he mused.

Both assumed Erotic Eren would dismiss the woman.

"Thinking of him," he began...he spoke of what he saw happen in Eren's room last night and what he discovered about Eren this morning, though he skipped out on his own personal statement, and went over to Mikasa's habitual need to watch Eren.

Hanji brought her fingers to her chin. "If Erotic Eren can get up at night without needing the transformation, we'll have a problem with him. If you can, can you speak to Mikasa about this? See if she knows about his night time escapades and how long it's been going on? She might even know what Eren writes about in that journal you supposedly saw."

"I doubt I can get close to her, she evades me and all."

"Oh, then I'll talk to her. Girl and girl, that'll be fine," she said determinedly. A lightbulb went off in her head, that look she had was all he needed. "And journals, about that, can you go to my lab and fetch me Ilse's notebook? It should be on my desk in the office."

He remembered seeing her desk being hauled away that morning into the courtyard; the damage was severe. He asked,"Why?"

"One of the girls, Christa, hangs around with someone named Ymir. Doesn't the name strike you as familiar?"

"To be frank, no."

* * *

A/N: Levi did not read Ilse's notebook.


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

A/N: Well...our favorite guest makes an appearance here~!

**SLIGHT MANGA SPOILER**

Also, do you guys want longer chapters? I average around 3,000-4,000 words; if I double it the story will progress more (this chapter is about 5,400) but will take a day or so longer than usual (I try to update this story about two or three days at a time).

In response to some of your reviews:

Yes, I was aware the pace was slowing, yes, I wanted to get character development. The story was originally one-shot but with a new concept (Erotic Eren) being played with, I just wanted to lay down some things before getting it to roll faster.

Unfortunately, the next chapter will be riddled with spoilers from the manga, particularly of Ymir. Her background is slightly sketchy as far as it had been shown in the latest chapter of the manga and so I will be using it and coming up with my own idea about her, letting her follow the rules I'm going to establish hin this story.

* * *

-Next Day-

Mikasa was nowhere in sight when he sought her out, he wasn't going to play the game of cat and mouse with her. He allowed Eren to seek her out on the condition that he would bring her back to the infirmary where Hanji could speak to her. While that was happening, he stood near the pile wooden tables that were burned to a point of where the legs gave way under their weight; the chared remains were set aflame once more.

Two recruits, whom he learned to be Reiner and Bertolt from Dita earlier that morning, were busy dismantling the legs and tossing the charred remains to the fire pits outside a kilometer away from headquarters.

It would cost them money and time to dispose of them any other way, fire was always a healthy option. In fact, it was used in order forms as well, such as funerals, disposing of other trash, it was their way of dumping unneeded things.

He was well enough to ride out on Noir, only taking a blanket to cover his seating on the steed.

By the time he arrived, Reiner was unloading Hanji's heavy, oak desk from the cart with Bertolt standing on the other side of it, holding it up so that it could slide safely out. The ruckus disturbed Noir but not enough to scare him, he merely pranced about in place until the desk was dropped to the ground, shattering into splinters and causing the blackened parts to crumble away to soot.

"Shit, you let it slip," Reiner cursed, Bertolt looked off to the side to notice that Levi had appeared before them. At once, he saluted, as did Reiner.

Levi gave them a nod to relax. "How much had you burned?"

"All of it, save for this one," Bertolt responded smoothly as he hopped off the edge. Levi dismounted and approached it. "What brings you here, sir?"

"Hanji wanted me to check something from here." He gestured with his chin towards the desk. Noir pawned the earth impatiently, he wanted to leave soon though Levi gave him a slap on the shoulder, telling him to stop. Reiner went off to lean against the cart, he made a gesture.

"Go ahead, it's falling to pieces though," Reiner warned.

It was large and had several drawers, along with a cabinet that was left open due to a lock that was apparently busted. His hands took the metal handles and pulled at them to find each compartment empty and void of Ilse's notebook. He glanced over at the two recruits as they stood side by side, watching him with blank faces. A thought crossed his mind.

_'Perhaps I should ask them...'_

He walked up to them.

"You are new to the Scouting Legion, correct?"

"Yes, sir, we're from the 104th training squad," Bertolt told him reassuringly.

They had their gazes locked to him.

They were alone, just him and these two. He couldn't help but feel something amiss, their expressions were cold, much different than he had witnessed the mess hall from time to time. They were watching him as though they were anticipating for him to say the wrong words.

"What would you two consider a luxury...?" He then added,"Before joining the military."

Instead of taking offense to his question, as he anticipated, they exchanged curious looks with one another, then faced him; they suddenly became relaxed. Bertolt even let out a relieved sigh,"Ah...well, a bed would have been nice to have. We often slept on the ground like animals, dirt poor we were."

Reiner nodded in agreement. "A roof and fire as well. Don't forget food...it was often scarce for us."

"I take it both of you come from the same village?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting."

_'Found you.'_

Levi wasn't equipped with his Gear nor did he have a firearm. He would be mad to start a fight right here and now in the field, and by the time he sought out help he feared that these two would possibly transform into Titans. He reasoned that by asking various recruits what they considered luxuries in life (Sasha had replied with food while Connie told him status and money), he would find someone with similar tastes of Erotic Eren.

_"You know...back in my village, we rarely have such luxuries..."_ That word _'we'_ struck Levi. He figured that by finding anyone with similar tastes in life would point him in the direction of finding possible accomplices. Sure, he had a degree of trust towards the boy but there's only so much he could know about him.

A Titan-shifter living within the Walls? There had to be more than him if that were the case, his suspicions grew when he realized that there was an enemy to mankind, an an enemy that wasn't a mindless Titan. The slaughter of Hanji's Titans and the report of two assailants destroying the information at the same time as recruits arrived into the Scouting Legion was just enough to convince him that true enemies have infiltrated their ranks.

Whether these two were actually Titan-shifters like Eren, he didn't know. He'd rather not know for the moment.

Such thoughts swam through his mind for what felt like hours, the reality of it was that it was only a mere second.

Levi stepped back and returned to Noir. "Go on, dispose of it. And when you're done, report to the Commander's office by nightfall."

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

_'It's them.'_

-...-

Erwin was sitting at his desk, going over paperwork as usual.

The door suddenly opened when he was reading the damage report on Hanji's lab. He didn't bother to look up; Hanji was the only person who never bothered to knock, though she was hypocritical when others didn't knock while she was working in her lab or in her room. Upon realizing it was Hanji, he slid the papers under a folder and looked up.

"What're you doing out of bed?"

She shrugged it off with one shoulder. Her right arm was still in the sling so she couldn't move it about; as Erotic Eren had dislocated it, he quickly thought of pushing her healing time longer than a week, perhaps two or three more at the least.

"I got booored!" She outwardly complained. "No one's visited me all morning."

He wasn't going to bother asking how she got there, though her other hand was at her waist, keeping a firm pressure on her ribs to lessen it. He placed the pen back to the ink bottle and got up, striding to her to offer her support.

"I was going to drop by, y'know," he stated. In truth, he was, but with the paperwork suddenly flooding in, he was held back to visit her at the time he promised that he would. About half a stack was left to be viewed and with her coming in, he'd be held back. To quicken the process to returning her to the infirmary, he stooped low and picked her up, carrying her like a bride.

At this she laughed and wrapped her good arm over his shoulder.

He strode out the door, amused.

"You're taking forever- oh, you can do the paperwork with me! I can help with that, just accompany me, will you?"

That amused look fell off his face.

The last of the documents he had to look over were all about her lab.

"Erwin?"

He came up with a slight fib. "Just going over the receipts on the order of horses is all, we lost a great amount from our expedition so I decided to call in for more of them."

In truth, they were short on them and they did need a new stock.

She simply passed it on. "Oh, alright. Come to think of it, Eren lost his horse as well. That's why he rode with Noir and Levi the other day."

Upon returning to the infirmary, they were greeted by Mikasa and Eren inside. Both were quiet, they weren't even looking at one another.

Placing Hanji back into her bed, Erwin made sure that she would stay there and left, leaving her to the two recruits. He came to his office and sat back down in his chair. Sighing, he pulled out the last document he pushed under the folder and read it over.

Several undisturbed hours passed until Petra arrived with his tea; by that time, he had finished with the papers.

The tea Petra made was a sweet substance that she brought from her hometown, those closest to her were given the chance to have such a concoction; he took a particular liking to it and had her brew some every midday when time permitted.

"Here," she chimed out when she entered.

He thanked her then asked,"How have things been with Eren?"

She held the tray at hand. "I spent the afternoon yesterday with him, and that was the only time I have seen him. Corporal's been having him under his watch as of late, just as you wanted. The others are wondering why, though. What should I say?"

The others meant the rest of Levi's squad.

He gingerly sipped. "Say nothing. I'm not having Hanji experiment with the boy until she's well enough so they shouldn't be too concerned of anything at the moment-"

"I found accomplices," came the familiar voice from the opened doorway. Erwin peered passed Petra to see Levi enter with the typical, unpleasant look on his face. "Petra, gather Erd and the others, bring them all here as soon as you can. Mike as well, he'll be of use." She gave a nod, not questioning his demand, and immediately left, he advanced upon Erwin's desk and stood there. "There's more of Erotic Eren out there, those who came from a similar origin."

"Outside the walls?"

"Not exactly but they lived through similar circumstances, had the same desires of wanting a comforting home...it's two of the new recruits..."

-...-

That evening, as the sun sank behind the hills, Bertolt and Reiner had disappeared.

The last to see them Jean and Armin when they had just returned from the nearby village; they had only left that afternoon to have a taste of normalcy and also replace what they can of Hanji's personal library (they only found a fraction of it all). As they were stowing away their saddles, they had a brief run-in with the pair though they passed it off as them being on their way to a tavern (or so Reiner claimed). Of course, not knowing about their summons to the Commander, they simply bid them farewell and let them loose.

Levi stood at the entrance of the courtyard with Noir as night had fallen.

Bertolt and Reiner didn't appear as he directed them earlier that morning. It left Levi's squad on edge when they were told of Erotic Eren (though he dismissed the sexual encounters as he felt it was unnecessary for them to know). Respectfully, they didn't inquire of it and only took the information as news, nothing more.

At most, gathered amongst his hunting party was his own squad and Erwin himself; other senior members were put to guard over headquarters as to protect it as members of the 104th training squad were kept at bay for their safety and efficiency. Friends wouldn't hunt down friends, or so Erwin reasoned.

Ah, also, Hanji was left in her room. Poor thing. She was aware of such a thing going on but, with her injuries, she could barely throw a saddle to her horse.

Each were given Gears and split into teams and were told to go off into the woods, taking areas they believed the runaways had went by. Levi had sent them away first as he was waiting for Erwin to arrive. He wondered what took him so long until he realized that, as he came atop his white horse, Eren was with him.

The boy had decided to use Hanji's sorrel.

"Why's he with us?" Levi questioned when Eren pulled up to him.

The boy was quiet, he didn't even greet him. He wore his cloak with the hood pulled over. It was, indeed, quite cold that night.

"Security," was all Erwin would say as Mike appeared with his own steed, distracting Levi,"scour the main road, the others have taken to the woods. Fire a signal when you see something, your best bet is that they might have taken for a village to hide; we'll meet up when the moon is at its highest. Be careful, they may be armed with Gears..."

With his instructions laid out, he and Mike took off for the field where Petra and Erd were running out in the distance.

Levi gripped the reins tightly and nudged his horse forth. He reasoned that Eren could possibly be used as a bait, though it was the darkness of night that would obscure his face that made his presence useless. However, he guessed that Bertolt and Reiner would, by chance, return to headquarters to try and take Eren. Inwardly, he nodded off that it was best to keep him on person where he could keep a close eye on him.

"Hanji's horse is quite slow, you'll have to keep at it to keep up with Noir," Levi advised him, trotting the black stallion.

Eren kept up with him, though the poor sorrel had to extend its jog to stay at pace with Noir. Distantly, he told him,"Right, yeah."

They traveled down the main road in silence, listening for other horses or anything that could indicate where the runaway recruits had gone off to.

When they entered the forest, it was like the animals had ceased to exist. The sound of their horses' hooves padded against the path with their steel horseshoes clunking against stone. He swore that all he could hear was his breath and Eren's as they rode side by side. Every so often, a bush would brush against their legs, a branch would protrude out of nowhere; he then realized they were taking another path that diverged from the main one.

It was dark, for the trees formed a canopy to block out the moon, but every so often a ray or two would light the way.

_'Peaceful.'_

Yes, it was peaceful but it was too quiet.

He took a moment to mentally pause, then he turned his horse. "Eren, you lead me off the trail."

Eren didn't speak, instead, Hanji's horse kept going.

"Eren," he said, he then turned to him and rushed ahead, blocking him from going on,"where are you going?"

The boy had his hood drawn, the edge of it covering his eyes though, by the moonlight that streamed just perfectly upon him, he could see those pearly whites slightly gleam from a cryptic smile. The way he sat on his horse was a bit crooked, for head slightly bent to the side as though he were sleeping. Levi walked to his side, his hand reached out for the hood and pulled it back.

Those lazy eyes flickered to him. A sense of dread fell over Levi.

"Eren?" He tentatively asked.

The boy suddenly came to life. His eyes opened and that smile faded away; he perked up in his saddle and shook his head like he was trying to rid himself of a bad dream. He brought himself to a proper position. "Corporal," he uttered,"sorry, I must have dozed off..."

"Now? It's only 2200," he pointed out,"and people don't smile in their sleep."

"Mikasa says I cry sometimes," he said, shrugging.

After confirming it was just Eren, the real Eren he knew, he gave a sigh and walked Noir away, prompting Eren to follow. They returned to the main path, back into the silent road, though he decided to converse; Levi was unconsciously afraid of Eren slipping into Erotic Eren if, at all, it were possible.

"...do you have dreams, Eren?" He asked as they went on. He was back to riding at his side with the hood pulled down.

Eren thoughtfully said,"From time to time, everyone dreams."

"What are yours about?"

The boy looked at him, surprised. "That's funny, Hanji asked the same thing..."

In all honesty, it was a genuine question and, from what he had seen in his room, Levi had grown curious of him. When Eren didn't answer his question appropriately, Levi offered himself,"Mine are of everyone, past and present. Those who died, those who I fear will die...when I entered the Scouting Legion, I could have given a middle finger to the world and care less of who perished. When you hold a comrade, someone you trusted, as they breathe their last breath, it changes you."

"That's rather deep, Corporal."

"Tch...there, I said something," he countered.

"Um...well, sometimes I get those where I'm back in Shiganshina, homesickness, right? It's ironic, huh? Back then I dreamed of going beyond the Walls with the Scouting Legion, going off to far away lands where there were fields of snow and waters of fire...nowadays, I just want to go back," he nostalgically said. "...from time to time, I dream of my mother."

Levi had been waiting for her to pop up. "What about her?"

"I dream of how I could have apologized to her. We got into a fight before Hell broke out." It grew quiet, they walked on. "...hey, Corporal?"

"Hm?"

"...do you know anything of Hanji's mother?" It was out of the blue, it even caught him off guard.

Levi glanced at him, then grimaced. "I know just enough. It's an old story but people don't talk much about it."

"Yesterday she mentioned her about being in an asylum..."

He took a second to think back. "Hm...her father was the eleventh Commander back when I was your age myself, Commander Jacques Zoe. He ended up marrying a Titan researcher, Hanji's mother, and so they had Hanji. I think it was during the 5th expedition that Commander Zoe was KIA; rumor had it that the wife saw it happen and went completely bat-shit insane after that. Point is, by the time she returned to Wall Maria, she could hardly say Hanji's name, much less even recognize her.

"She was about twelve at the time it happened, she ended up enlisting after her mother was committed to an asylum in the Stohess. Ever since then, three quarters of her salary has been going to care for her mother; she doesn't say anything about it, I'm surprised she let it slip up to you."

"Uh, we were on the topic of mothers," he mused.

Noir snorted happily, breaking away the silence of the woods. They were about five kilometers out when they finally reached a babbling brook where a bridge was. Their conversation stopped when he saw an object protruding near the edge of the water, it was threatening to fall in. He got off of Noir and handed Eren the reins; he bent low and took it.

A notebook.

By the moon's light, he could make out the leather cover and pages. He opened it to find the name** "Ilse Langner"** scrawled at the front page.

"llse," Levi murmured out loud.

The book wouldn't be all the way out here; it was supposed to be in Hanji's desk and yet it was empty of it. Those two were the only answer, whatever reason they picked up the book for may have prompted them to burn the lab. He opened it to the most recent pages. At first there were words in Ilse's frantic handwriting, and then...symbols.

Just symbols. He couldn't make out the words nor did he understand them.

It went on for several pages, then abruptly ended with a new set of characters as though someone else who knew the code wrote back a response. It lasted for about two pages, after that, it just went blank.

Eren peered over Levi's shoulder.

Levi glanced about. There were no hoof prints near the brook, nor were there any other signs of where they went. The search had gone for a tad bit long as, by the accounts of Jean and Armin, they had probably fled four hours ago; a search would be fruitless by now.

He looked up at Eren, declaring,"We're going back. Set off a green flare, it'll tell them to retreat."

The boy nodded and reached for the gun, he loaded it and fired it into the deed done, he asked,"Can I see the notebook?"

Levi mounted Noir and handed it to him, seeing no harm in giving the kid something to read. "When Hanji found it a year ago, she wouldn't shut up about it."

They turned their horses and headed for home. It grew quiet as Eren grew occupied with reading what he could, Levi would steal a glance over him every so often but the boy wouldn't tear an eye from the page. Hooves beating against stones while pages were turning, it was like Eren had found something too good to put down.

-...-

They arrived before the others.

Ness and Cis were standing about, smoking from their long pipes and blowing tobacco into the air. Both Scouts dismounted and their horses were given to the two men that smoked in the courtyard. Levi looked over at Eren once more; the book was still at hand and, even as he dismounted, he was still fixated. Even as they went into the main hall of their headquarters, he was reading. Even, somehow, as they removed their Gears in the storage room, he was still reading.

"Oi, give me that book, you may run into a wall or something," Levi told him, extending a hand to him. He would have to give it back to Hanji, perhaps the symbols sprawled towards the end were her doing. He wouldn't be surprised, the woman was self-taught in other things besides Titans. "Eren?"

The book snapped shut, Eren finally looked up. Levi took a step back.

That smile from earlier was there. His eyes were half-lidded, lazy, uncaring of the world around him though they were drawn to bear into Levi's own. His posture, not alert, was too relaxed, a chuckle came from him,"Is something the matter, Levi?"

Levi felt his heart suddenly hammer in his chest at the sound of his given name, his mind was telling him to flee, knowing all to well what the boy was capable of yet...last time, he had enough pull to get him to comply appropriately.

As they stood there, Eren extended his hand, giving Levi the book. "Here, didn't you ask for it?"

Hesitantly, he took it back, paranoid that the freak would break his wrist. He didn't say anything and simply pocketed the notebook. He tried to stay collected though, in the reality, he had grown a fear towards him. To have himself violated and left humiliated once more, it was something he couldn't stand.

He clutched the book, silently begging it to somehow offer an escape route. He regretted giving the book to Eren as he had just figured out that it was possible for Erotic Eren to be drawn out without the need for transformation. How was he supposed to know? It wasn't like the book came with a warning label...or maybe the characters upon the last pages were just enough-

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Eren voiced out, drawling as he took a step towards him.

"No, I see one sick bastard, I'm just disgusted by him," he snapped. He waved the book up towards him, then realized that there was a hint of recognition when the book was held to up him. "Were you the one writing last night? Is this the book you were using?"

Eren's cryptic smile broadened as he chimed,"Guilty and guilty. You don't lock Eren's room whenever he leaves, all sorts of things can pop in there...things like that book. Hnm...it's been a while since I heard of Ymir, makes wonder why she kept her original name though." He suddenly advanced to Levi, his arms were forcefully pinning the man to the wall in the blink of an eye. The Corporal, oddly enough, found himself trembling, though it was from anger from having his space violated. "No worries, I'm not seeking flesh at the moment."

"Oh? That's a fucking surprise," Levi scowled,"tired of rubbing dicks, hm?"

"I said at the moment," he sneered, his elbow snapped up and into Levi's throat, giving a sharp jab that made him fall to his knees to grab it.

"Ah!" The pain rattled through him as he wheezed for air, he seethed and writhed, glaring up at Eren as he stared down at him; that smile.

That stupid, fucking smile.

Eventually, once gaining his bearings, he stood up, using the wall for his support. As he spluttered and gasped for air, he heard Eren say,"Take me to Ymir. An old friend wrote down in that book that she's located in this vicinity."

He didn't know who Ymir was, at least his mind was drawing a blank at the moment. The last part confused him like hell.

_'H-Hanji.'_

She knew who Ymir was.

He made a gesture to follow, mind already rattled. As long as Eren got what he wanted, he wouldn't be drawn to hurt anyone. He was sure that if he kept near the bastard, he wouldn't see fit to harm Hanji once more.

Staggering with the book at hand, he led the way.

-...-

"...thanks," she said, now sitting in a chair by the open window.

Despite the courtyard being her only view (the infirmary was situated on the ground floor), Hanji was able to get some fresh air. Mikasa had stayed for the afternoon and into the evening; at first she wasn't willing to speak but after a while, Hanji managed to get her to crack. She learned of her nightly habit of watching Eren yet there were no signs of any Erotic Eren nor having any sort of journal in his possession.

Overall, there was nothing significant Mikasa had seen before going to bed...but she felt that there was something missing, she'd have to gain her trust some more before she could pry the young girl to get more details; that would be something she was willing to wait for.

Armin arrived as well; he brought her books as she requested so that she would have some light reading.

He stayed for a bit, then was called away by Jean by nightfall.

A few minutes later, they returned to address her with the situation of Reiner and Bertolt; she was incapacitated so any participation in the search was out of the question. Amin had spent the rest of his time there.

She leaned against the sill, looking out to the South.

"Did they ever tell you where they came from?" Hanji asked as he was done assisting her to her seat; he went to go sit on a bed across from her, a book at hand.

"Not exactly, they said they came from the mountains but that's just it," Armin answered with a hushed voice.

She looked over at Mikasa. The girl had grown tired and was sleeping in another bed.

Both were unaware of the details of Bertolt and Reiner but they were aware something had gone wrong. Despite being comrades, she was surprised they didn't offer protest or ask any questions; it was good yet it was strange for them not to. If she were in their positions, she'd be asking questions nonstop about her friends if there was a search party going on for them.

"...and Ymir?"

"She keeps to herself, except for Christa, they're always together so I don't know much about her."

She nearly snorted,"Oh, I definitely know about her togetherness with Christa."

Armin let out a straggled laugh, knowing all too well what she meant. "Yeah, they are quite close. Does she have to do with anything?"

"No, just curious about her."

She decided to pick up one of the books he brought. It was one about the history of Titans, one written half a century ago; there wasn't much about it though she picked it up for the sake of reading something. She remembered purchasing this copy about five years ago when they stopped by Shiganshina, the pages were old and faded when she first got it.

Her fingers gingerly touched the edges, she even opened it to the first page where she normally wrote her name.

It dawned on her that this was a new book.

"...Armin?"

He looked at her, his shoulders dropped. "Yes, ma'am?"

"...why is this book new?"

"I...uh, spilled coffee on the old one-"

"The old one _had_ coffee stains on it." Hanji looked through all of_ 'her'_ books.

Each of them were new.

And she damn well knew that they weren't from her private collection.

"What happened? Did you spill a barrel of coffee on all of them?" She questioned.

He froze in place, mouth partially open yet he couldn't find the right words to tell her anything.

Nanaba's voice came out of the blue. _"Hey, Hanji, I heard about something catching on fire. I didn't know what it meant so I thought you were probably involved-"_

"...my lab, was it caught on fire?"

The kid was sweating.

"...um..."

The door suddenly flew open and slammed unceremoniously against the wall. Mikasa flew up from her bed, alarmed, and Armin had let out a yelp at the ruckus. Hanji had barely a moment to speak up when she saw Levi standing at the threshold, hand at his throat and rubbing it. He was in obvious pain though he stood there, hand against the door frame.

Levi managed to croak out,"Where's Ymir?"

"What the hell happened to you?" Hanji asked, attention drawn over to him.

Armin quickly responded,"I saw her an hour ago heading for the barracks, I dunno if she's still there!" He got up and took Mikasa by the hand and bolted for the door before Hanji could take a hold of him to ask more about her lab. He called over his shoulder,"Sorry, but we have training tomorrow, we need to...uh, check our Gears and horses!"

Following Armin's retreating form, Levi entered the room with the familiar journal of Ilse. Hanji reached out him, saying,"Great, you finally got it. Hey, if you're going to see Ymir, tell her to come up here, alright-"

Her words fell out when she saw Eren peeking his head from the door. That smile and those eyes, she would recognize that look anywhere.

The journal slipped out of her hands in shock, she stammered,"I-is that Erotic Eren?"

Levi didn't say anything, he just turned and walked away.

When he went out the door, Eren stuck by for a moment. He gave her a disturbing wave and chuckled before closing the door.

Thoughts about her lab flew out the window, Erotic Eren was here; she could feel it.

It was silent in the room for a moment, then the sound of hooves beating in the courtyard by her window caught her ear. She saw Erwin come in with the other members of Levi's squad, she managed to pull herself up and lean over the windowsill.

Her voice rang throughout the courtyard.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter shall reveal a lot more of Erotic Eren and should be posted up by the weekend.

"Unfettered" shall be worked on as well


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** As usual, thanks for the reviews/favs/follows~! My depression has been getting easier to deal with but I do my best to fight it~.

**BORDERLINE MANGA SPOILERS**...and just an obscure concept coming your way.

As for Normal Eren/Levi advancement, that'll come up in either the next update or the one after that.

Ah, and I posted the first chapter of this fic up on Tumblr, myself, under the my fanfic, Tumblr account (remove the spaces and underscores): ht_tp:_/_wildeveoftheheath. tumblr_ . com  
I AM OPEN FOR QUESTIONS IF YOU GUYS WANT TO~! It doesn't have to specifically be of this fic, if you have requests of what you want me to write, I'll take it up. I'll also post up my kink memes there too.

A bit off topic but the inspiration for Noir comes from my own horse, pictures of my baby and other antics with him will be posted on my main, newly acquired Tumblr account (eustaciawildeve), follow me there and on for latest updates on things (cosplay, fics, and horses).

* * *

"She wasn't in there," Eren noted as they went through the corridors.

"That's because I had to check to see where she was," he uttered, his voicebox sore but slowly becoming of use once more,"I don't know her in person."

Levi made sure that they stood a distance away from on another, though this time, he walked at his side. He couldn't trust Eren to be behind him, no, not unless he wanted to be stabbed in the back.

They eventually made it to the barracks and into the women's quarters where a long hallway considered of doors that led to private rooms. Most of the doors were open save for one at the end of the hall. He heard a bed creaking inside, then a giggle; it's a state of emergency and they decide to rut like rabbits? Eren went to stand by the door, but he didn't knock or even make a gesture to open it.

"You're the Corporal, get them to stop."

Levi ignored him as he stood in front of it and knocked firmly.

The noise from within ceased and, within a few seconds, the door opened just a crack to reveal the tall Cadet that was closely associated with Christa. She looked around, confused at who knocked, then looked down to see Levi. Ymir grimaced but opened the door wider. At least she was wearing clothes, much to Levi's relief, but he took a peek at her side to see Christa throwing on a simple dress to cover herself.

"Sir?" Ymir asked, her voice evening out. She was breathing a bit heavily.

He was about to speak, but then Eren shoved himself into the light; the Corporal stepped away as Ymir stared at the bastard as though he were the one who interrupted their activities. She looked ready to smack him.

"What the fuck-" She began, yet Eren overpowered her with his words.

He said...something, Levi couldn't catch the word only because he didn't know couldn't recognize it, though it sounded like the grunt of an animal mixed with the sloshing sound of his tongue. Eren spoke some more, his tongue rolling with a smooth familiarity with the words as though he knew them for ages. Ymir's expression changed from annoyed to shock, she even stepped out of her room when he made a beckoning gesture.

As if they ignored Levi's presence altogether, they walked close to one another and began to leave.

She conversed with him as well, her voice lower than it usually is and having a softer tone than his tongue. Levi stood there, unmoving, until the blond girl came out of the room as well, adjusting her dress. Christa was ready to run after them, but he reached out for her arm and held her, he pulled her in and asked,"Did you know of this?"

"N-no," she feverishly said, a slight blush on her face; he felt her skin was heated. "But...I think I know what they're saying."

"C'mon," he ordered, storming after the two. He only fell short by a few paces with Christa following at his heels, she had a shawl wrapped about her person to cover her shoulders. The pair ahead of them suddenly stopped with Ymir turning to face them.

She let out that strange language once more to which Christa nodded. The young blond took a hold of Levi's sleeve, telling him,"She doesn't want us to follow."

-...-

He waited in the shared room the girls' had.

Christa had busied herself to make tea over the fireplace as he sat at a desk impatiently. Fifteen minutes had passed, at least that was what it said on his pocket watch.

"What is it that they're speaking?"

"In the old days, it used to be called _'Russian'_," she explained,"I believe only the Wall occults know of it, a few scholars here and there, but overall, it's one of the dead languages."

He raised a brow as she produced a cup from a cupboard. "So how come you and her know of it?"

Christa nearly dropped the pot when she picked it up from the flames. Her hands shook as though he touched something that was never meant to be known, she looked quite nervous but he didn't care, he just watched her as she tried to collect herself. "I...I had a tutor, my parents hired a tutor for me when I was younger, they thought I would be going to a university in the capital."

"So you ran away from home."

"...yes. I didn't complete my training when I left so I only know bits and pieces, and Ymir...she hadn't told me where she learned it but she's been trying to get me to speak it with her more often."

She didn't seem to know of Erotic Eren nor did she catch a hint of him.

Her delicate hands poured tea to the cup she brought out and handed it to him. "Here, sir."

Levi picked it up and took in the scent. He found it decent enough to drink so he gingerly sipped at it while his eyes were focused on the empty hallway. It was quiet outside and so he brought his attention back to the young girl. He took great notice of her natural beauty; her fair skin and bright eyes, her flawless face and body, it was enough to make him glance over her person a couple times.

She reminded him of the women he saw back in the capital, the nobles and their daughters.

The quality of her tea was even of high standards. He grimaced just slightly and mused,"It's rare for the rich to join the military."

"My life wasn't any better there. Lonely place, really..." She trailed off.

Voices rose from the hallway; they were returning.

He placed the cup down and expectantly looked over at the door.

Christa sat in the chair across from him as Ymir appeared first. She entered, then went to her side to speak in that Russian tongue; a few glances were thrown at Levi before she addressed him with an unpleasant tone,"I can't help you in this."

Levi stared hard at her. Help? There was a way to counter Erotic Eren? And here he was, nearly losing his mind at having to deal with the creature once more. He could have laughed at her in disbelief but when Eren entered the room, he sat stiff in his chair. The sight of him forced away any doubts he would have in the Cadet. Why would she know anything of this? Why isn't she going to tell him?

The thoughts of that were pushed away as he saw the boy enter. "Why not?"

"Don't ask why, just get out," she demanded, though it was more like she was begging. He glanced at Eren as he stood at the corner, arms crossed with that languid smile splayed on his face. One hand went up, making a gesture for Levi to stand.

_'She's probably not comfortable telling me anything if Erotic Eren with us.'_

"You can't speak to a superior like this," he admonished her.

Ymir didn't comment nor add a rebuttal, she just stood there in silence. Eren was still waving his hand, waiting for Levi to get up.

He could have asked her why she was reluctant to say anything, but he figured that he would have to return at a different time. If it were a completely different circumstance, he would have punished her for telling him to get out yet Eren's presence made him feel like he wasn't a superior at all. He gave her a curt nod to show her that he understood, then he got up.

Eren went for the door, exiting first.

He waited just outside for Levi to follow.

The Corporal did.

-...-

The window slammed shut, leaving the two girls to themselves.

"Ymir?"

"Yes?"

"Who was that?"

"Who? Eren?"

"Yeah, him. But, um, that's not him so...who is he?"

"...I can't tell you. For your own good, don't ask that unless you plan to tell me who you are yourself."

"Oh...alright- hey, where are you going?"

"To Hanji...Christa, please, go to Sasha, I'm not comfortable with you being alone while I'm gone."

-...-

Levi's squad arrived at the infirmary just a few minutes after Hanji had called for them. Erwin was amongst them, she told him of Erotic Eren and even gave his location; they were gone as soon as they came.

She sat in her chair by the window, anxiously awaiting for news. Would they capture the freak? Would they bring him here? If so, she would have to try to interact with him to at least establish some form of communication with him once more. Maybe even ask if he can reproduce with someone at an appropriate time; males copulating with males, well, it wouldn't get her the offspring she sought.

Then there was that incident of getting the shit beaten out of her...she'd have to rethink her way of approaching him without sustaining injury.

Yes, despite the drawbacks, the woman convinced herself that she can obtain the offspring on Titans.

Her mind buzzed with such thoughts until they all ceased at the sight of Ilse's notebook on the floor.

She dropped it when she saw Eren. It laid on the floor a few feet away from her.

"Oh...right," she said to herself, trying to get up. Well, managed to get up with her left arm pushing against the windowsill. She cautiously walked over to the book and stared at it as though waiting for it to fly up into her hand.

The moment she bent over, the striking pain in her ribs made her shoot back up into a straight position. They hadn't healed yet and she hadn't taken medication for the pain; she was doing well without the painkillers for a couple days and thought she would be fine without them. She was wrong.

"Heh-heh...like an old woman," she weakly laughed at herself,"ugh...where's Moblit when I need him?"

She closed her eyes to bid herself time to fight the pain, she let out a soft groan as her left hand braced herself against a bed stand. When she opened them, she found Ymir standing before her.

"Ah, there you are, you're a bit late," she feebly said, she pointed her chin downwards. "Can you give me that? I dropped it by accident and I can't pick it up."

Ymir did as she was told.

"You saw Levi, right?"

A nod.

Hanji then apprehensively asked,"...did you see Eren?"

Another nod, but her fingers opened the book; she flipped through the pages until she reached the end of it, there, her eyes scanned the pages. She hadn't uttered anything and she didn't even give Hanji the book. Instead, she headed for the coal stove in the corner; it had been lit by Armin that evening to warm the room up. Hanji tried to move after her, saying,"Hey, what're you doing with that? I was going to ask you about-"

"Who I am?" She said, kneeling in front of the tiny door of the stove where coal was loaded into the furnace compartment. She opened it and tossed the book inside, letting it catch aflame within a matter of seconds, destroying what was left of Hanji's private collection. The door snapped shut and she stood up to face her. "If you know what's best, you wouldn't be asking that."

"Well, that book you just decided to destroy is..._was_ really important, it could've held the answers mankind needs! You as well, you were mentioned-"

"I'm not going to play a part in your endeavors," she declared, she stepped away and headed for the door,"even if you tried to tell everyone about me, who'd believe you? You don't have proof, and any further ways to produce any are gone."

Hanji's brows furrowed; she was the only person out of humanity (and both Ilse and Ymir) to have set eyes on those pages. Indeed, she raved about it but everyone slowly began fade away, disregarding her words. Not even Moblit had seen the book's words. It was at the last part that she questioned,"What?"

"A few days ago, your lab was set on fire. All the data you've collected have been burned away."

"All?" She rasped in disbelief.

"Down to the last ink blot."

The world seemed to freeze over, her mind numbed at the news, trying to avoid processing it; Ymir took the liberty to leave before Hanji let out a shrill scream that was likened to that of a wailing animal.

-...-

Eren was ahead of him.

Levi just kept a good distance.

"Hey..." He softly uttered.

Eren slightly turned his head. "Hm?"

"What's your deal with Ymir?"

"Something private...wouldn't want you to boot her out or anything if you knew about her-" He was about to turn the corner but he paused. "-oh?"

Levi walked by him to see why he stopped.

He entered the intersecting corridor to see his entire squad, plus Erwin and Mike, standing, frozen in place. A wave of joy and relief washed over him at the sight of his comrades; he'd be safe with them. More hands to sort out Eren would be much better than an individual (he and Hanji were proof of trying to interact with Erotic Eren single-handedly).

He sighed when Erwin calmly inquired,"Levi, are you alright?"

"More or less, I'm fine," Levi answered,"did you find those two recruits?"

"Not a single piece of them," Auruo let out,"they fled too long ago."

They each had conflicted looks in their eyes, Eren quietly stood there accordingly.

_'Maybe he won't attack when there's a group...'_

"Forget them for the moment," Erwin told them,"get Eren in irons, we can't have him up and about-"

"Wait," Eren blurted, his voice changing to being that relatively normal tone, the one everyone knew; even Levi had difficulty distinguishing it. A cold chill went down his spine, Erotic Eren could do impersonations. Mike and Erd paused, confused for a moment though they each had chains at the ready. "I didn't transform into a Titan so...I'm not this weird guy you call Erotic Eren."

Levi's eyes widened in horror.

_'They don't know that he has other means to change into this bastard.'_

"...Levi, did the boy transform as of late?" Erwin asked, giving a signal for Mike and Erd to step away.

"No," Levi answered indefinitely, he hoped that someone would pick up on his hesitancy of speaking,"but he can-"

A drawn out scream reverberated throughout the corridor and, quickly, throughout the ground floor of their headquarters. The squad members turned their heads in the direction towards the source, cutting away at Levi's words. He saw the boy with a smirk on his face as the some doors opened around the hallway for the barracks with sleeping recruits awakening.

As screams grew louder, Erwin ordered,"Mike, Erd, come with me. The rest of you, check the guards and see if those runaways have returned."

They each nodded.

_'No, no, wait, don't go. You actually believe him!?'_

But his squad members were leaving, heading for their assigned duties. Why couldn't he speak out?

Levi mentally kicked himself as Erwin fled with the other two men, the Commander called over his shoulder,"Keep an eye over Eren!"

"Wait-" He started, but when their backs turned to him Eren brought a hand to cover Levi's mouth; another hand went to his temple. The grip, he knew, was the kind that would snap his neck in a heartbeat; he froze in his words and his body stiffened at being held in such a horrid position.

Levi raised his hands up to show that he was willing to submit. Eren chuckled, that drawling voice came back,"I had a feeling Hanji would send them after me, she looked like she could have shit herself when she saw me over there. Got Ymir to tell her about the lab too, such an loud woman would react poorly to anything...it's good she screams, it makes a great distraction, don't you agree?" Levi didn't nod. "Hm, and that book, wouldn't want that floating about; a piece of evidence on Ymir. She ought to thank me for giving her a chance to destroy it, it saves her hide, really."

Eren took a step, prompting Levi to move as well. Their rugged steps smoothed themselves out as they walked in unison, pausing at every other corner to see Scouts rushing to meet up with the rising screams coming.

_'Devious bastard...'_

A small humming came from the boy, it was jolly and sounded like an old marching song. It clashed horribly with the fading screams as they went on to the stairs. He finally relinquished his grasp over Levi's head so that they may walk up without stumbling. The humming stopped and Eren told hm,"I take it you're not going to run from me."

"I have to keep an eye on you," Levi grudgingly uttered, then he felt Eren give a light push against his back.

He smirked. "How dutiful, Lance Corporal."

They ascended up to the third floor where the screams were softer and not heard as much as they were two floors down. Eren went back humming once more, his feet eventually going into tune with the beat. It went on until they arrived at his door. Levi reached into his pocket to pull out a key to unlock his door, then went in with Eren following.

-...-

Once the boy was inside, Levi closed it, locked it as well, and then leaned his back against it after lighting a candle to illuminate the room.

The screams from outside his room were muffled and, by now, fading.

There was no fire in the fireplace so, oddly enough, Eren was drawn to it. He reached about, over the mantle, and found a matchbox. No words passed between them though Levi stood there, unmoving, watching him carefully as he loaded the timbers and lit the small tinder underneath the pile. Within minutes, a fire lit the room and Eren finally turned around to face Levi.

"Much better, hm? A warm fire is good," Eren chimed with a smile.

Levi glared, he uttered behind gritted teeth,"Not with you here."

He got up and walked over to the desk. There, his hand brushed against the wooden surface as though contemplating what had happened upon it before. That smile sickeningly danced there, then he pulled up a chair to sit in it. Levi still stood there, unmoving, eyes tentatively watching him as he sat there quietly.

A long moment passed.

The fire crackled, letting out embers that bounced to the flow to glow red, yellow, then black. At the twelfth pop from the fire, Eren finally spoke,"Aren't you going to sit? Better not let this room go to waste for not being used for comfort."

Levi refused to move at first but, as this was the third time he had encountered the bastard, he knew very well how the night would end. He let out an exasperated sigh and brought himself to a chair on the other side of his room; he saw there with one leg crossed over.

Feeling safe at this distance, he asked him,"Planning on rubbing dicks, you sick fuck?"

"Hm, this is the third time I've seen you in person and already you know what I want," he softly laughed, then threw his head back to stare up at the wooden ceiling. "How long have you been fighting?"

"Me?"

"Humanity," he corrected him crossly.

"Since Commander Zoe of the Scouting Legion issued the first expedition in the year of 811. The Scouting Legion had been around before but was only meant for the defensive and research rather than actual combat and exploration."

"Hm...a recent occurrence then, that you've picked up the fighting," Eren mused.

"Thirty-four years in total, give or take-"

"How very recent. Tell me...Levi, had you ever experienced a great loss?"

Levi didn't answer. What kind of question was that? Of course he had, everyone in the Scouting Legion had. Eren would have been a fool to ask that, he'd been told this before, but it wasn't Eren sitting in that chair across from him. It was someone else entirely. The question rang through his mind, names and voices rose though they grew quiet when Eren spoke once more.

"Who am I kidding?" His head snapped forth. "You're a human, of course you experienced it!"

"That's a stupid question to ask me."

Eren shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt to know...ah, tell me, do you have a weakness?"

"Telling you, out of everyone, would be the most regretting I can possibly do," he scoffed.

"Mankind's strongest is really at his strongest when he was splayed out on this desk here." Eren's hand lightly slapped the wooden surface.

Levi tried to hold back his snarl as Eren got up.

"I can feel Eren trying his best to resist me, day by day I'm forced further back into the corner of his mind...makes me wonder what's been making him retract me all of a sudden," he blabbered, his hands made gesticulations, often clenching as though he were trying to snuff a flame out. He began to pace. "Soon enough, I'll just be a memory and no longer a person within Eren, so much for the freedom, eh?"

"Who are you?" Levi asked him, eyes following every step.

He was ignored, much to his annoyance.

"It'll only be a matter of time before he accepts me as I am."

"You're making yourself sound like a phase in life, an extra round of puberty for the kid."

Eren laughed and shook his head. "For a stiff man, you know how to be funny. In a way, you can describe the process as that. Not all humans can overcome Titans when they gain our power, some can do it easily, others just take time. Even when the boy realizes I'm present within him and that I can be controlled, I'll still be there within him, just not as...pronounced as I am now; I'll just be a memory from long ago, I won't have hold over him as I do now.

"In essence, I'm a Titan myself, speaking before you. Eren is my proxy. Back in the old days, you could say I'm a demon possessing him. So...to answer your latest inquiry, I went by many names."

He stopped in front of Levi.

"You're quite talkative tonight, much better than hearing you rave about your village and filth," Levi noted.

"Ymir gotten me started," he conversationally replied,"I used to be the talker back home." He stooped low to be at eye-level with him. "Hm..."

He was about to ask of the language that he spoke with Ymir, why he would know of it, but he held his tongue.

Eren brought a hand near Levi's head. Levi tried to evade his hand but could only go so far away in his seat, and so Eren touched him. Expecting him to throttle him, Levi braced himself but found that Eren was merely brushing his fingers through his hair in the most disturbingly affectionate way, like he was touching a beloved pet. His heart hammered in his chest from Eren being too close.

He wanted to move, he certainly couldn't trust him to be so near and yet here he was, again, letting him into his space.

_'Why do I keep letting him come close? I'm scared...'_

He felt his palm gently caress his scalp; it sent a warming feeling to flood his body.

_'Oh...someone else used to do this.'_

Pierre? Gisbert? Emil? Someone...

The names went through his mind once more. Again, here he was, silently begging for the impossible, that someone would come in to interrupt by knocking on his door.

His hand traveled low, carefully caressing his cheek for a brief moment until he brought the curve of his index finger directly under his chin. He gingerly pushed up until Levi gave in to pressure and tilted his head upwards, glaring at him as he leaned close. His thumb went up to brush his chapped bottom lip. It cue was all too familiar. Instinctively, Levi leaned up, just a bit, when Eren presented himself closely.

_'Pierre? Yeah, Pierre.'_

But then he withdrew, leaving Levi to stand up in offense and snap,"Don't fucking touch me like that if you're going to lead me on that way."

"Your lips as rough as your words, Levi," Eren commented with a satisfied grin,"no matter how well you feign it, it's obvious what your weakness is."

* * *

A/N: Yeeeeeeeeah, it'll get steamy next chapter~

Regarding the Russian part, it's not specifically Russian as languages branch off and merge; it's just a theory I've come up with.


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** Sorry for not updating as quick as I usually do...scenes like these take time, ha ha. Also, I was busy with a photoshoot with my SnK cosplay. Go check it out on my tumblr! (remove underscores and spaces)

Here's one of the pics, I managed to make it as Ilse Langner:  
ht tp :_/_/ eustaciawildeve _._tumblr _._ com / _image _/ _60286637637

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"What is my weakness?" Levi challenged.

"Hm...you must not really know yourself if you're asking me that."

Eren's eyes playfully looked him over, checking his person, as his lips curled even more. His hand reached out to take his arm but, unexpectedly, he gently pulled while stepping back, beckoning him to follow. Levi knew how the night would end, he may as well get it over with; he dreaded seeing the creature draw him near his own bed, turning him about so that his knees would buckle underneath.

He landed on his back with Eren crawling atop of him, legs and arms pinning him in place.

Levi saw no use to fight him off. He hated him. Hated. Hated. Hated.

_'Just get it over with.'_

He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of trying to fight him off, no, not this time.

He laid there, limp, arms splayed across his sheets with his legs out; one knee was bent up though it was only caused by Eren bringing his shoulder over to push it by.

"What is your weakness, Levi?" Eren taunted him as he loomed overhead. "What makes you tremble in the hate or love of it? You're more human than I, what is it?"

He clenched his hands but then Eren balanced his weight back and took a hold of Levi's wrists, forcing them to be held above his head and against the pillows. "Why are you asking? You said you know."

"I just want the satisfaction of hearing it from you."

_'What makes me tremble? Is it out of fear or pleasure?'_

"I have none," he deadpanned,"now hurry up and fuck me, I'm tired of you already."

Eren chuckled and shook his head, then spoke in that foreign tongue. **"Predstavleniye."**

Hearing those words were almost like getting a high from the addictive fumes of his youth. Levi glared up at him, waiting for the free hand to come smacking him in the face, but Eren was caressing his cheek once more in the most irking manner. He cringed at it as the boy lower his lips to his neck, a tongue peeked out before disappearing from sight.

His tongue gently roved here and there, along his skin and by his jugular; he dove for the crook of his neck on the right to play with a pulsating vein.

Nerves were tickled, Levi would have found it pleasant if the creature hadn't decided to fucking burrow his teeth into the skin. Canines pierced him in the most painful way, causing him to let out a cry that was easily muffled out by Eren's free hand covering his lips. Pain seared through his body, shooting as far as the tips of his fingers; it registered in his mind to fight back.

His knees thrashed against Eren's hips as his arms tried to break free; then he felt fingernails digging into his skin, piercing him like shards of glass. Levi seethed at this, Eren let out a sinister laugh between clenched teeth and a mouth full of skin.

Levi felt his muscles were lingering on the border of being torn from his bones. He made quick work trying to let one of his hands out; since when the hell was Eren stronger than him? Why was he being stronger? Last time Levi was more lenient from knowing the outcome of trying to assault the boy but now, with his body racking in agony from his neck, he had to fight.

He had to.

In a matter of seconds, despite the sharpness of Eren's nails digging into his wrists, he managed to set loose both hands; one went to deliver a punch to Eren's temple while the other slammed against his shoulder. It was like trying to tell a hunting dog to release the prey from its jaws; Eren would let go. He hit him, again and again, and he swore he heard a skull crack from sheer force.

He threw a glance at his own wrists to see them lined with blood that seeped from crescent marks.

"It fucking hurts, Eren!" He shouted into his palm, but then teeth bit even harder. "You're going to tear through my skin!"

Before he could hit him for the dozenth time, Eren finally relaxed his jaw. Levi continued to assault him back even as he released his hold on his neck. The brunette's head drew back as his hands went to Levi's to pin him down, allowing the Corporal to gasp for air and take sharp breaths to combat the pain radiating from his neck.

**"Predstavleniye," **Eren murmured once more with a smile. Between his pearly whites were bits of blood. Levi's blood. His own, fucking blood.

_'How far did he go?'_

He ceased his cries, he closed his mouth, but his nostrils flared with rage. However, he didn't want to provide an incentive for Eren to try and retaliate; Levi dropped his limbs to the mattress. His chest rose from his struggle, his heart raced, and his mind...it was conflicted to either fear the creature or hate him even more. He chose the latter as Eren leaned back onto his knees and rose himself a bit higher.

They were still garbed in uniform but their harnesses were removed in the storage room.

He glared up at Eren.

"Are you proud of yourself?"

The tongue darted over the teeth, taking in the blood; that smile said that he was satisfied at inflicting such a wound. It stung like a bitch but Levi kept his hands where they were, not wanting to show weakness. No, never.

He watched Eren's hands travel to his slacks to undo it. He didn't realize it at first, but the freak was already up and standing down there. It disgusted him that the bastard was getting off at seeing him in pain yet he chastised himself for a moment for being hypocritical. He tore his gaze away from Eren and looked over at the headboard as he felt Eren's own hands working around his pants, unfastening them and then hiking them down with his boxers until he was bare below him.

His mind tried to wander off, away from Eren and to some other place at some other time but those damning fingers were shoved into him to pull him back to reality; the boy had taken to using the oil lamp once again for lubrication. Levi keened at the intrusion, his hands finally flew to Eren's chest as he knelt over him. He threw a closed fist there, just right above his heart, but the creature continued on, uncaring.

Eren only watched him with that sneer. He let out that word once again. **"Predstavleniye."**

"I don't speak Russian," Levi gritted, lips curling into a snarl when the freak finished prepping him.

Without warning, he railed into him.

Pain racked Levi's mind.

He wasn't aroused, no, not at all.

Unlike earlier, he was completely against it. He simply wanted it done but to avoid throwing his mind into sex cost him the hurt.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he screamed out of sheer agony.

-...-

Eren peacefully slumbered, the creature had been satiated and had gone away. All that he saw now was a boy that knew little of the damage he had caused.

Levi shook his head and closed his eyes, exhaustion creeping up behind him from a drawn out yawn. He tried his best to stay awake, he tried. He rolled himself onto his side to face away Eren. Just slightly, he opened his eyes to see the smoldering fire. The air was cool against his skin yet the sight of a fire dying made it feel even colder.

Alone.

He felt alone in the room; it was a foreign to him. It wasn't so much that he had never dealt with it before but because he couldn't place a tongue on who this creature was.

He brought himself to sit up with great difficulty, his ass sore and his neck swelling, throbbing more than his body. He managed to stagger to his bathroom where he cleaned and dressed the wound, he was conscious others would think when they would see gauze wrapped around his neck; luckily it was below the neckline and just enough to be covered by a shirt if he wore one. The bottle of liquor he used to clean himself was left sitting on the stone sill by his window.

He took it once more and downed a few to get some ease from what had just transpired.

Having enough to relax himself (he didn't want the hangover), he corked the bottle and placed it back. He went into his room. No matter how much he drank, it was still cold.

"...who are you?"

He asked that into the air, unknowing if Eren heard him or not. Probably not.

His eyes were drawn to the mirror that was adjacent to his bed. It was a long one, he often used to it insure that his appearance was proper, that there were no flaws. As he stood at the doorway from his bathroom, he could clearly see his reflection cast on by the moonlight from his uncovered window.

Before him stood a man. Nude. He was nude. Somewhere along the way, Eren had torn at his shirt and jacket; said items were strewn on the floor. It disgusted him to see that he was bare skinned in front of the mirror. He could see the numerous scars earned from his years of service and, just recently, the bruises and bites that lined his abdomen and shoulders. There was a claw-like mark running down his chest, it was red but, thankfully, not bleeding.

_'Disgusting. Look at yourself. Who are **you**?'_

Mankind's strongest soldier...reduced to this. How did he let Eren do this? No, it wasn't Eren. He had to keep reminding himself that. Had to, had to, had to. But there comes a time when a threat rises and little can be down thwart it, especially if it were too much. Erotic Eren was getting to him.

He went to the mirror and grabbed its top edge. He could have chosen to shatter it, but he undid the lever and turned it around in its stand to face the wall. He couldn't bear to look at himself. Not like this.

He dragged himself to his bed to take a blanket, then he went to the sofa by the fireplace. He didn't bother to get clothes, he was too tired.

Unceremoniously, he collapsed onto the seat with the blanket draped over his body.

-...-

He awoke the next morning, sore and exhausted.

He struggled to get up with the blanket still swathed around him. Slowly, he went to the bath to draw himself water from the tap, then he went back to his room to gather the appropriate clothes; the usual black slacks and loose shirt, along with the cravat. These were his typical clothes. He laid them accordingly on the sofa, his mind still hazy from awakening that he nearly forgot the other occupant in the room.

A groan came from the white sheets, he saw Eren rise up, stretching. "Unh..."

Levi froze, still holding his own blanket to cover him.

The boy opened his eyes and saw the Corporal standing by the bathroom door, unmoving. He only stared in stunned silence. The blanket only covered the man partway, it revealed his tainted skin and worn body.

"Sir?" Eren let out tepidly when he realized that he, too, was without clothes. The boy easily placed two and two together; he saw the boy's face contort with guilt. "Sir...I swear...I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Eren," Levi reassured him with a hoarse voice. It was conflicted to the man himself but as long Eren held that regretting face, it gave comfort that it was the human he was speaking to, not the creature. He shivered at the thought of that smug smile and lazy eyes, he turned away and headed for the bath. "Just get out of here and meet me at the Infirmary."

He shut the door behind him but he heard a muffle of,"Yes, sir."

-...-

Arriving at the Infirmary, he found it empty save for Eren, just as he had told him to wait. The boy had went down to his room for a new set of clothes, though he picked simple slacks and a faded, sleeved shirt for his attire. He stood at attention when Levi neared him, it hit him that they were outside of the Infirmary, not entering. Just before he could say anything, Eren interjected,"Nanaba left a moment ago, said that Hanji's in her room."

Levi let out a "tch" for having to travel all the way down there after a bath and properly grooming himself.

He hid the gauze from sight by having his shirt covering it, thus not letting Eren know of what happened.

He made a motion for Eren to follow and the boy did so, keeping behind him. When he noticed Eren had drawn back, he requested,"Stand by my side."

Erotic Eren had done well to stay behind him, keeping at his toes; he'd rather set a standard for both of them so that he could distinguish them. Plus, with Eren within his line of sight, he grew more relaxed knowing that there was some form of control.

As they went through the hallways, Eren cleared his throat and began,"I only remember being in the woods last night."

"You opened a book and changed into that son of a bitch when you read through it," Levi explained bitterly. Now that he thought of it, he figured that the triggers for Erotic Eren may lie within the foreign scripts of a dead language. Slowly, it clicked in his mind that the language may be written in the old texts Eren kept in his room; unknowingly, the books Eren had may contain the power to change him without his knowing. "...I want you to get rid of the texts in your room."

Eren's eyes widened. "Those are...those are rare, you don't know how long it took for me to get my hands on them, some are even original copies-"

"Which makes them all the more worse. There's an old language you spoke of last night-" He held back from mentioning Ymir. "-and it may hold the key for your reasons of being a Titan. For now, I just want to be safe; those damn words can make you change into Erotic Eren, I'd rather you not read them until we get this sorted out. Am I making myself clear?"

He knew Eren valued them. They were, as he recalled, his reason for wanting to join the Scouting Legion. However, Eren have a defeated nod. "Yes, sir."

"Give them to Armin," he advised, he'd rather not have the boy be grief-stricken either; it was enough that Levi himself was a grim reminder that the boy guilt of recent events. "You don't have to burn them."

Eren gave a relieved sigh. "Thank you..."

-...-

"You're packing?" He asked her as Moblit was taking the necessary clothes from her closet. She didn't have much but there was a decent amount of civilian outfits; she just needed someone else to do it for her.

"Yes, I'm going on leave for the winter," Hanji explained, though her voice was uncharacteristically sharp,"Erwin's sending me away so that I won't fuss over the lab. Says I need a break is all...now that I think about it, I definitely do."

Both he and Eren came to her room to find Moblit rushing about. Hanji was sitting at her bed, watching her assistant with an obvious grimace. When he first saw her, he noticed that her eyes were bloodshot and her throat was hoarse as she spoke a few directions to Moblit. He told Eren to wait outside so that he may speak to her in person.

"Just when we have a great development in all of this too," she huffed out,"Erotic Eren was a first, but it cost me my lab it seems."

Levi's eyes grew wide. "You learned?"

"Ymir told me right after she burned Ilse's notebook."

She recounted her side of events last night.

When Erwin and Mike rushed to the Infirmary to check on her last night (of course after hearing her screams when Ymir left), they discovered her having a breakdown. A news like her lab being utterly charred, coupled with the multiple drawbacks from earlier, have been too much to her, she was set off and went completely out of line just enough for Erwin to deem her unstable. There was fight between them, obviously, but she gave in to his side of the argument.

By the end of her piece, Moblit had finished packing. "I'll wait outside for you, ma'am."

"Alright," she told him, not looking at him.

"Where will you be going?" Levi asked her as she got up. He had stood there entire time, his ass not permitting him to sit any time soon, or at least until he got a hold of the medicine from the Infirmary.

"To my mother's," she declared,"I go there every year anyway, the only difference is that I'm staying there longer than my usual week."

During the winter, she would go on leave for a week to see her mother for the festive season. He grimaced at the thought of her going to an asylum and ironically not staying there permanently; however, she was a good a soldier as any. The only difference was that she was needed.

She gave a heavy sigh as she paused before her door. "He wouldn't believe me, just like Ymir said he would."

"What?" Levi asked, getting close to her.

"The reason why I'm pissed off is that Erwin called me mad for trying to tell him that Ymir was mentioned in Ilse's notebook," she snapped at him so suddenly that he backed away,"says that I'm just lacking proper sleep and all, that I'm having all these weird assumptions on things. Reproduction on Titans, Ymir being found elsewhere outside the Walls, trying to have intercourse with-"

"Two of those things are legitimate reasons for letting you out," Levi deadpanned,"but the one about Ymir is correct."

Hanji's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, that's right, you spoke to her last night...did you say anything that made her, y'know, destroy the only fucking piece of evidence I had for proving she's probably from some other place in the world? Without that book, I have nothing to pin her with-"

"No, it was Erotic Eren who told her to do that, the bastard set up everything so that he could draw attention to you and then have his way with me," he grudgingly admitted,"he must have said something to have her do it." He remembered the words Eren kept telling him. "...kid also knows a dead language, so does Ymir."

"Dead language?"

"Russian."

"...Russian? Hm, that's what the Wall occultists know from what I've heard," she mused. "He's a devious thing, Erotic Eren is. I wish I could be here to monitor him but...you're on your own for this. Go speak to Ymir, though...if those two can talk, she clearly has something to say."

"I was planning on that," he said as he got the door,"though I was hoping you'd do it as you're a woman. Girls can speak with girls, right?"

"She didn't do so much as give me a warning about getting into her business. Just talk to her yourself, see what she knows." They walked out to see Eren and Moblit speaking to one another in the hallway, Hanji her arm that was still in the sling in an attempt to readjust it to be more comfortable. "Moblit, can you go ahead and bring my stuff to the horses? Tell Erwin I'll be there in a few."

Moblit nodded and effortlessly took her clothes, leaving the three in the hallway.

Eren quietly stood there but his eyes were focused on Levi, which prompted him to say,"Stop staring like that."

"Sorry, sir-"

"Eren?" Hanji asked, trying to even out her voice; it was obvious that it was laced with frustration. Eren looked at her. "Did you turn into a Titan last night?"

"No, ma'am."

"He turned into Erotic Eren just by reading some pages from Ilse's notes...most likely they were written in Russian," Levi explained briefly.

She gave an understanding nod and began to walk away. "If only I taught myself that, it would've come in handy right now."

"Y'know...I tried to tell Erwin about Erotic Eren being loose last night."

"And?"

"You screamed and drew their attention away from us; they don't know about him having the capability to change."

"That's a problem there...you alright?"

She had a general concern for him, it comforted him to know that there was someone who knew of this. However, knowing that she was leaving, it left him at unease; he lowered his voice so that Eren couldn't hear, he murmured while pointing at his neck,"The asshole bit me pretty bad. It's not serious but he drew blood."

"...I'll be sure to let Erwin know on our way..."

"Just remember that Erwin's not at fault, he didn't know."

"But still-"

"I'm fine," he firmly told her, ending the conversation there.

They followed her closely as she carefully took her steps. A moment of silence passed, then Eren spoke out as they entered the courtyard,"What're you going to do about the data? Your information?" He was referring to her lab.

Hanji didn't face him and kept walking, though she answered,"I remember most of the things I've read, seen, interacted and so on. The things I had stored down there are texts from old observations over the years, all are irreplaceable. Most of the books I got were from my mother, collections from her own library; I practically grew up with her books but hadn't gotten around to reading them all. She taught me what she could but..."

She trailed off as they got to the entrance of the courtyard.

It was strange to her hear her speak so casually of her mother. She rarely spoke of her despite taking leaves to see her once a year.

Her sorrel horse was standing at the gate with Mike holding its reins, beside him was Erwin holding his white horse and two others; one had a saddle while the other had its back carrying the burdens of Hanji's things. Apparently, she was not only bringing clothes but also two crates. Levi thought them to contain some of her equipment.

As they approached, Moblit came out with his own steed. "Major Hanji, we'll be taking you to the Stohess."

Hanji grimaced at him, then also at Erwin; obviously things hadn't settled down completely. She said,"Help me onto my horse."

"Yes, ma'am."

Erwin came to Levi as the two went to the sorrel. The Commander addressed him,"I'll be leaving to escort Hanji, it'll probably take a half a week, maybe more."

"Erwin, we just had two soldiers that left to avoid your summons; they were the ones most likely responsible for damaging Hanji's lab and you decide to leave?"

"We can't accuse them of anything if there's no proof. Desertion is what I've written in the reports, you know it happens from time to time-"

"Yes, but you know better than that," Levi pressed to him,"and so do those I've told about them."

Erwin let out a sigh,"Asking them on the basis on their luxuries? Levi, even that seems far off; it's just like Hanji raving about Ymir. You're playing the facts by ear-"

"Are you saying that you don't believe me?"

"I'm saying that both you two should pursue what you think is amiss; there's only so much I can do. I'm already trying to deal with that other issue-" (He was speaking of the traitors that butchered Hanji's Titans and set her lab aflame.) "-and it's bad enough I have to turn an eye for a bit just to deal with Hanji."

He hoisted himself onto his saddle and took the reins. His horse stomped the ground impatiently as it chewed on its bit noisily.

"I leave you in charge for the most part," he explained as Moblit got Hanji onto her saddle. Said man also went to the pack mule that carried the supplies and belongings and then went to mount his horse. Mike was already at the gate waiting for them but he looked like he was gearing to fall asleep. Levi could see that each of them, save for Moblit, were unable to get their rest from the night before.

Levi gave a curt nod. "Hn, fine."

"And...also, the Military Police will be coming by the local village with a fresh supply of horses, I need you to attend to that within two days."

"Will do."

"Everything else had been taken cared of, give everyone another week of break."

"Seems a bit lax for them."

"Then do what you see fit. Train them as usual."

Last good-byes were exchanged between them and soon, the four were riding away. The dust picked up by the feet of their horses rose a bit and then fell back to the ground. He watched them leave until Eren cleared his throat, he turned to look over at him for a moment, then he let out a sigh. He needed time to clear his mind and recover from last night; Eren's presence wasn't much of a help as the events were still fresh.

"Go find Armin and have him arrange your books accordingly so that he could have them. Don't return to me until they're gone from your hands, understood?"

Eren had become crestfallen at the order, but he complied nonetheless. Without questioning any further, he told him,"I'll do it."

"I'll send to someone to accompany you as well while I'm busy..." He rubbed his eyes and headed for the entrance of their headquarters.

Once again, Eren walked behind him.

"...hey, walk by me," Levi said.

"Yes, sorry, sir."

* * *

A/N: I know I started off being comical in the first five or so chapters, but after this point (and the amount of you wanting more Erotic Eren and Normal Eren/Levi interaction), I'm letting you know ahead of time that this will become serious. It's like...one of those instances where it all starts with a funny incident but then grows into a growing threat that later becomes a danger to everyone. For those of you that had made it this far with the story, I bow to you.

I felt that it was veering off the merry course I tried to establish earlier but, also, I stated earlier that the only reason this got into the Humor category was solely Hanji's part. With her gone (temporarily), I can focus more on Levi's changing character. I didn't mean for this to develop at all and, yet, here I am trying to break away at the barriers of mankind's strongest.

I usually put author's notes at the top. I had to put this one at the bottom to avoid spoiling Hanji's leave.


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** Sorry for taking a while, got a bit too busy...here's a chapter. I promise you all, next chapter will focus on more interactions between Levi and Normal Eren. Leave your reviews, they really help me drive the story and let me know if there is too much or too little of either Erens.

I'm not an expert on Russian...I just used google translate, ha ha

* * *

Noon drove in.

Several of the soldiers went on leave, once more, for the village but Armin had decided to stay back with Mikasa. She had been quiet, unusually quiet.

Eren found them at the back courtyard where they were sitting about, quietly talking amongst themselves. Both he and Levi parted ways the moment he entered the building. For whatever business the man had, Eren didn't want to intrude though he had a feeling it had to do with him. After all, he felt like he lost an entire night, to add to that he even woke up in the said man's bed.

Nude.

He admired the man and was willing to go far in whatever Levi ordered for him to do, but to suddenly do _that_?

That was certainly not something he was expecting.

There was a thin border between admiration and affection. Very thin. So thin, you couldn't even see it but the differences were there.

When he was told that his other half, which he still wouldn't believe existed (or at least he accepted it yet he had a hard time comprehending it), had an inhumanly strong libido, Eren had taken notice of Levi's slowly changing attitude. The man was strangely willing to speak more often with him as they spent the passed few days just knowing the odds and ends of one another.

He felt that he was telling more of himself than he was learning of Levi.

The man had a tendency to draw the conversation towards his deceased comrades, though Eren accepted it as being natural. Death was something they all had witnessed and, as being humanity's strongest, Levi would have had more than his fair share. That was as far as their conversations went, however, he felt that eventually, Levi would slip something about himself one of these days.

Eren would have to wait for that.

Maybe the man didn't trust him in general. Maybe Erotic Eren even pushed him further away than where he was supposed to be. Both Eren and Levi were going along well, at least until last night. Oh, Eren didn't dare ask the specifics and he damn well knew better than to ask if he had done well last night; it was obvious the man was in pain. In fact, days ago...

_ ...the boy had the audacity to ask,"Was it good?"_

_"No, Eren, it was horrible," he blatantly told him._

And then he couldn't, couldn't sit, couldn't clean; hell, he couldn't even stare at him in the eye afterwards. It would be difficult to speak to him now, especially with the newest issues unraveling.

-...-

He approached his friends, calling to them,"Armin, Mikasa!"

Mikasa looked up from the ground to see him, then stood up. Wordlessly, she approached him when he stopped a few feet short, she oddly looked hesitant.

"...Eren," was all she said.

"Yeah? Something the matter?"

"Not much."

The girl let out a soft sigh as though she were relieved, then her lips gave a slight smile. She embraced him as usual while Armin got to his feet. "Hey, we saw you with Levi last night when we left the Infirmary...did you guys find Reiner and Bertolt?"

_'Infirmary?'_ Eren was confounded by it, then recounted the events of being in the forest on the way to the village, he shook his head in a bout of confusion; he never went to the Infirmary. Well, as far as _he_ knew._ 'They must have seen Erotic Eren.'_

"No...not at all," he answered. "You guys know, though, right? Why everyone's looking for them?"

"Them suddenly leaving after a fire breaks out...it's almost screaming that they're responsible for it," Mikasa finally said,"I find it hard to believe though."

"Yeah, we all relied on them, especially Reiner," Armin mused. They stood in silence for a moment until the blond finally brought on a different subject. "Did Levi finally let you go?"

Eren tried to pick up on lightening the mood. "A little bit, yeah. Does everyone know what really happened to them?"

"Levi's squad is telling everyone it's just desertion but Jean and I were the ones who told Hanji. Mikasa knows too," Armin said.

"Wait, how did Jean...?"

"He was with me when I saw Reiner and Bertolt last...we're both witnesses so we had to say something."

The sound of a blade hitting wood echoed from the nearby woodblock across the courtyard. As if by coincidence, Eren saw Jean and Connie busying themselves with chopping the wood for the winter; turns were often taken by the new recruits, today was their shift. Jean had the axe at hand and he was working at his best. Somewhere, a shout came by, then a clatter of pots came from the left

No doubt that was Sasha causing a ruckus in the kitchen.

It was like each of them were going about the usual as though they hadn't skipped a day or so in their lives like Eren was.

"...Armin, I came here to get you, I need you to help take out the books from my shelves and store them in your room..." His voice trailed off when he took notice of his friends' expressions changing. It was like he rang a bell that broke their mutual silence.

Mikasa suddenly threw her arms around him, then murmured,"You finally figured it out..."

He embraced her in return. As his eyes peered over his shoulder, he saw Armin nervously biting his bottom lip.

_'Did they know...?'_

-...-

"There you are," Levi murmured when he passed in front of the entrance to the mess hall.

He spotted Ymir sitting at one of the center tables with Christa. The room was empty save for those two, he considered himself lucky for not having to traverse back to his office for privacy. Luckily, just a few minutes before, he went to the infirmary to take a dose of painkillers for the pain; they had kicked in by the time he found Ymir. It saved him the hassle for struggling to pull a chair out and sit adjacent to Ymir.

Ymir was softly speaking to Christa though her words ceased when Levi popped in beside her. "Corporal, about last night-"

"Good, you know what I'm here for," he mused, she gave a curt nod.

Obviously she knew of Erotic Eren. Hell, she carried out a conversation with him.

He reclined in his chair and saw Ymir lean by Christa, whispering something into her ear. The blond got up and left the room, though she only stayed in the hallway and within Ymir's line of sight as though the taller Cadet were watching her like a hawk.

"I couldn't talk to you because of the man that spoke through Eren threatened Christa," she began after licking her cracked lips to moisten them a bit.

"Do you know who he is?"

"...at one point in time, yes," she confessed. She lowered her voice as though Christa could hear their conversation; that wasn't the case as the entrance was four tables away. Levi stood a bit straighter, anxious to know who he was facing, but she averted his hopes when she said,"However, it's not important for you to know. I'll only say _what you need to know_ under two conditions."

His eyes narrowed. A lower ranking woman striking a deal with him? It sounded absurd but, with the given circumstances, he was willing to lower his pride. His days in back in the underground networks of the capital taught him to compromise to get what he wanted...or at least get what he wanted and walk away with a bloodied blade.

Of course, Ymir wouldn't get the blade, no. Times were different. He couldn't just kill and, even if need be, he couldn't do so until it was approved. He worked on his own accord, he could only discipline her but not kill.

"Alright, what are they?"

"You will not speak of this to me or anyone, what's said here is said here and doesn't leave between us."

"Seems reasonable."

"The next one may not be so."

"Oh?"

"Neither Christa nor I will be reprimanded...if you know what's good for you, our hides will remain untouched."

Levi looked her in the eyes. He had lied before. It wasn't something new, but the game of trust was a delicate thing to play. Something in him told him to follow this condition through and through, he would do anything to know the truth. Perhaps he would be making a hard bargain and not know who Ymir truly was, she too could have held the answers mankind needed...and even a way to stop Erotic Eren from surfacing altogether.

"You have my word," he said without hesitation. Even though she threatened him, there was some gain in having her confidence.

Ymir gave a dubious snort, grimaced, and relaxed in her seat. "We'll see."

She drank from a mug that she had before her so that she may wet her whistle.

"...there are two types of Titan-shifters. Those who are born and those who are created. Those born can be identified by the skin on their backs; in fact, they don't have skin, only muscles. What their deals are is their own, they are just them. Those created are the ones with actual skin, like the ones you see out in the field. I don't know the exact intricacies for both to be honest, I just know what the meaning of one is; I left it all before I got too far with them."

"Who's them?"

"They're not important-"

"Well, whoever _they_ are, _they_ definitely mean there's more Titan-shifters in this world."

"Just let me talk," she firmly pressed to him, grimacing.

He closed his mouth and patiently waited for her to go on.

"When a Titan-shifter is created, he or she would have a difficult time regaining their humanity as they forfeited it for the power of Titans. During the first transformation, there is a fifty-to-fifty chance of the Titan-shifter returning to his or her human or remaining in their Titan forms for an unknown amount of time. If there would be a way for a Titan-shifter to immediately become human, then the process of merging the memories of the Titan together with the human's is cut short and there would be little to no distinction between realities for said Titan-shifter.

"Those who allow to give their Titan time to remain within their subconscious and process memories correctly with the conscious mind will no longer have a Titan that would overwhelm them; hence, both the minds of a human and Titan are as one. It's a matter of control, a war, if you will, during the process."

A phrase rang through Levi's mind._ '...that child has so much hate towards us, it's almost like a war when we come together as one...'_

He slowly spoke,"Then Eren must have turned into a human all too quickly after becoming a Titan. When you say he can't distinguish reality...?"

"It means that he's not the person you know. The Titan's memories overlap the human's memories; depending on how short the merging was made will determine how severe the overlapping is. This occurs typically after transformation and coming out of the Titan's body, but...there could be other triggers if they pose a great significance to a specific Titan...like hearing a certain song or seeing a certain action..."

"Reading a certain word?" Levi inquired.

Ymir gave a nod. "Applies to that as well, though the bouts of recalling a Titan's memory other than Transformation are not as severe at first. For the Titan to gain full control and manifestation of the human's mind, the Titan-shifter would have to actually Transform to begin with."

-...-

"It started a few weeks after we left home," Armin said as he knelt on the floor, hands sorting through the ancient texts.

Eren sat on his bed while Mikasa had situated herself by Armin; she too had taken the task of putting the books into a crate they had taken from the kitchen. Outside, in the hallway, he could see Auruo standing against the wall with his arms folded and one foot pressing against the wall; a shameful mimic of Levi. Petra was there as well, though she was parallel to him and her position was hidden by the wall.

Both were sent down to watch over Eren while the others had gone out to search for the deserting Scouts (Reiner and Bertolt). Normally they would bicker but, upon hearing Armin speaking, they grew quiet. No doubt Levi had told them vague details of Erotic Eren.

"...remember that time we went to the bookstore in the Karanese?" He inquired.

It was four years ago; they made enough coin to purchase a luxury outside of food. They stumbled upon an old woman's shop and forayed through her books, the boys found one of their liking and took it. He couldn't remember anything else after that but Eren nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do."

"We read it over once and...you just left us for a long amount of time." Eren's mind stuttered.

"What!?"

"You were gone. And when we couldn't look for you, we would go to sleep and find you the next morning sleeping nearby. Every time you opened that book, you'd leave us with explanation; worst part was that it was impossible to follow you, you were too good at hiding away. It was weird, really weird..."

"So I've taken to watching you sleep," Mikasa voiced in,"it wasn't until we entered the Training Academy that you stopped leaving; of course, they wouldn't permit us to bring personal items like books. You didn't wander off during that time so it was comforting to know you weren't going to get lost."

It was slowly coming back to him. In his younger years, he'd wake up to find his friends staring at him. They would ask where he went the night before but he wouldn't recollect anything. Just nothing.

"But then Trost happened...you didn't read any the old books, you came out of the Titan as the Eren that wandered around. That Wandering Eren, you had the face, expression, all the completed it was the voice. For the first time, that Wandering Eren told us,_'kill them all'_...we grew alarmed until I snapped you out of it."

_'So they've encountered Erotic Eren but not in a way Levi had...he could have targeted Armin or Mikasa though they seem generally unharmed, that's good but...'_

As Armin took a book and opened it briefly to skim through it, Mikasa fiddled with her scarf.

"Did I hurt you guys? Ever?" He tepidly asked.

"No," Armin said, but his back was turned to him.

Mikasa wasn't looking at him either, she uttered,"No. You just left me- us, you left us worried from time to time."

They remained quiet for a while. The sound of leather rubbing against leather and hands grasping at the bindings echoed through the room. He glanced over to Auruo to see the man wiping his mouth from blood; the poor guy bit himself.

_'Wait...if all it took was for Armin to snap me out of being Erotic Eren, maybe sex isn't what he needs to go away.'_

-...-

"Is there a way for Eren to overcome the memories or go through this...merging or something?"

Ymir folded her arms over her chest. She only gave a simple answer. "Time. He just needs time to complete the process. It could take a season, it could take a century. I dunno...I'm not in his head." But her brow perked up. "Though there is one other option. Forcibly having him Transform will get him and his Titan accustomed to one another; it'll be like getting a horse used to having a saddle."

"I don't have the energy to keep up with his...Titan self," Levi confessed, not favoring to have to satiate the freak repeatedly to further the process.

"...he mentioned he's fucking you senselessly," Ymir jested with a smug smirk that made Levi want to smack her across the face,"if you don't opt for it, you'd have to wait and gamble that the Titan doesn't stay when Eren gets out of his Titan form next time you need him to Transform."

Levi let out a "tsk". He didn't want to dance on the subject of sex, but for his personal need he had to know something else...

"Does he need to fuck me?" Levi let out, cringing inwardly.

Ymir tried to straggle down a laugh, and she successfully done so by clenching her fist. "Not exactly. All Titans of Titan shifters have a weakness that'll keep them at bay; that weakness is, in fact, the human counterpart's wishes. Companionship, love, purpose, something that they personally desire and have met such needs will keep the Titan away.

"...it just so happens that Eren's Titan is addicted to sex and, most particularly, to you. Or...maybe it's you Eren consciously wants?"

_'He has a desire to go beyond the walls and to slay every last one of the fuckers...a Titan wouldn't care about killing other Titans, hence that goal could be canceled out in favor for sex. So...that could mean...'_

Well, Hanji did mention that the boy did get a bit flustered whenever Levi was brought to the conversation.

-...-

All the books were in neat rows in the crate, Auruo stepped into take them out with Armin following behind.

Eren expected Mikasa to leave though he was grateful she stayed. He felt something was off about her, she wasn't even looking at him even when they were alone in the room; well, they weren't exactly alone, Petra was just outside and within earshot.

"Mikasa," Eren said, coming close to her as she stood up and went to the desk to lean against it. She still wasn't looking. "You usually talk when making eye contact."

She flickered her eyes to him. "Is that better?"

"Look, I know this is the first time in a while I could hang with you guys. Corporal Levi is just...paranoid about something in me, he was ordered to keep a close eye and-" He couldn't finish the sentence when he saw a tear produce at the corner of her eye. It was foreign to see her break down in front of him but she wasn't a sobbing mess, not yet.

She was holding it back. "I saw you the other day after we came home. I woke up to hear about your Titan being let loose...I saw you in the hallway with Levi- no, I saw that Wandering Eren. His face, his words...for the first time I was able to trail him so I did, I ended at Levi's bedroom door...and Eren, I saw him doing it with the man. You- no, he was raping Levi. Eren...Levi was raped."

It stung him to hear it so bluntly told to him.

She brought her scarf up to wipe away a tear, she swatted away his hand when he tried to reach to her. "I thought you hated Levi, why're you crying?"

"Because...it just-"

"Mikasa," he began dryly,"I don't remember it happening. That wasn't me."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, it didn't look right to me."

Mikasa shoved passed him and stormed out, not wanting to speak any longer. He was left standing there in silence but Petra's head peered from around the corner.

"...c'mon, you're done, let's go to Corporal," she said, though she sounded somber.

-...-

"That's out of the question," Levi snapped, regaining his composure. He pushed away such thoughts for the moment, she was prying him open; he didn't like it.

She let out a low chuckle. How could she have known of this? Here he was, gaining answers, and yet here she was, obviously giving out her identity.

"Tch...what's the deal with you and Eren's Titan?"

"That's out of the question for you," she shot back at him. She suddenly get up. "I believe we're going to end it here. I've told you what I could."

She pushed in her chair and walked by him. He had one more thing to say. Just one more.

He heard her walked about two tables away, he cleared his throat and stated,"**Predstavleniye."**

"It means _'submission'_," she replied over her shoulder as though it was instinctual,"roughly, _'to be brought to submission_'. Anything else?"

Another thought crossed him. "By chance...did you read Ilse's journal?"

"I caught a few words here and there, but now that you mention it, Eren's Titan knows more about what was written there; he told me he read it. Hm...looks like you'll have to talk to hm if you want to know more. Good luck, _Corporal_," she said the last word mockingly and left. He watched her take Christa's hand and lead her away.


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N: **Very sorry for the long update, I've been getting utterly thrashed around by school work. *cries* But I found the time to focus here. By this point, "Unfettered" will be put on hold, I'm very sorry! *sobs*

Special shout out to FreyrFnk for catching me and Corporal Noir (my own, black horse and overall inspiration for this story) on Omegle a while back. Corporal Noir and I were going through people and surprising SnK cosplayers and fans with each other, then we stumbled upon FreyrFnk; it was freakin' awesome talking to you, by the way, haha.

Also, another glorious shout out for ask-dat-sassyshorty on Tumblr...Noir wants to give his love to you, he thinks you're...sassy, XD.

Anyway, yes, I Omegle and Tinychat with a horse next to me. Usually I cosplay an SnK character (last time I did Ymir) and have Corporal Noir standing by (the big guy loves to chew my hair and nibble on my face and jacket). I'll put up updates on my tumblr when we (or myself) are going to go through Omegle, I'll also give what character I'll be.

Follow Noir: ask-corporal-noir

* * *

"...why are you coming with me?" Hanji began bitterly after an hour of riding out of range of their base.

They entered the village where several Scouts had retreated to for a taste of the normal life. Unlike them, Erwin and the party continued through, passing by with the occasional waves and salutes from soldiers that recognized them. The skies were clear above them but, no matter how much the sun shinned, the air had taken to biting their skin.

Winter was coming soon.

She used her good arm to wrap the blanket around her person much more snugly as Erwin rode by her left. "Isn't it obvious?"

"What? That you, the leader, is going off on a limb to send me away from everyone? Normal circumstances, I would have been fine with just Moblit," she scoffed. Her voice dropped as she pressed her sorrel's barrel to side pass closer to Erwin's horse. Their legs brushed against one another but it was the distance they wanted. "It's not obvious to me, you have two traitors on the loose and you're taking your time to take me to the Stohess; you're making it look like you don't see it."

Erwin relaxed in his seat and held the reins looser, he didn't seem angry. Then again, he was unpredictable. "Levi accused Braun and Hoover on the basis of their luxuries. At first, I was skeptical about it...but when they didn't appear at my office as Levi had told them, I began to believe him. I see it. You figured it yourself, hm?"

"Those who take to running have reasons to run," she reasoned. Her eyes scanned the town's main road; they were walking in broad daylight, their hoods were pulled off to reveal their faces. "It doesn't take a fool to know who destroyed everything my mother and I worked for...when they get captured, I'll come back and have at them myself."

He didn't comment at that, nor did he tell why he was with her.

He scooted his horse away from hers and she moved on. "Erotic Eren was up and about last night."

"Oh?" He seemed surprised.

"Levi tried to warn you. It could have been a blessing or a curse to have you flee before he said anything. You could have avoided being beaten to a pulp by Erotic Eren, that's a good thing, yeah? But the curse would be leaving Levi to himself...poor guy was raped, no doubt about it," she murmured with a grimace. "The kid didn't need to become a Titan...whatever was written in Ilse's notebook was enough to pull him into reality."

Erwin raised a brow. "Magic words?...I own an apology then."

"Oh, _now_ you believe me when I say the notebook had importance," she snorted indignantly. "No, it can't be magic, that's a childish assumption. Levi mentioned him turning just by reading something in Russian, I hadn't gotten the chance to understand the phenomenon...I wish you'd let me bring Eren along."

"I'm not having this argument again," he finished for her. "With two targets separated, the one's we're looking for will be forced to choose at least one; in the past they worked in pairs to have control of the situation; they would take the one they can handle the best or has the most value."

"Hmph...whatever you're rambling about, it better be worth my trip to spend with you."

They stopped at the blacksmith for a moment to give new shoes to Erwin's horse. Should the errand not have been needing completion, they would have passed the village altogether. Hanji was aided down by Moblit and also had her horse's shoes replaced as well;, the other two men attended to their animals as both the Commander and Major took to resting at the front porch.

She was situated on a crate where she had an open view of the main road, Erwin had taken to leaning against a support beam of the shop. Other than the occasional mention of Eren, they hadn't spoken directly of last night. The air was stiff between them. Erwin would deal with it later.

Throughout the time they had entered the village, he'd taken notice of a figure moving about in the corner of his eye, following their small party once every so often. He was planning for that to happen, for the said traitors to show themselves sooner or later- he had his hood down for that purpose, he wanted to draw people out. Even as he stood in plain sight before the blacksmith's shop, he waited to see the figure once more.

He swore, just at the edge of the corner, he saw someone briefly peeking by.

He cleared his throat, easily catching Hanji's ear. "Fresh horses from the MP's stocks will be here in two day's time."

She stared at him, brows creasing. "So?"

"I'm saying that Levi will be getting them...there's a chance he'll bring Eren along," he reasoned, though he said it clearly.

She didn't reply, but instead, give a _"hn"_ and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.

-...-

Gunther and Erd returned that evening.

They came to Erwin's office, both unknowing of the Commander's leave and Levi's temporary leadership. When they learned of it, they didn't argue as they told that there were no leads on the two Scouts that had fled. He dismissed them and quietly brought his focus to the paperwork that was left in his care.

After he had spoken with Ymir, Petra accordingly returned to him with Eren while explaining Auruo went to help Armin and Mikasa. He thanked her and bid her away, then took Eren up to Erwin's office to stay there with him. The boy hadn't spoken much and, quite oddly, kept to himself and was unwilling to engage in conversation. Levi situated himself behind the desk and simply worked.

Eren seated himself on the sofa that was in front of the fireplace and coffee table, though on occasion, he leaned against the back edge. Once in a while, Levi would glance up at him and then bring his eyes back to the paper.

He was in deep thought, which was surprising for the child he had seen locked within a cell on the day of his trial. The passed few days he had taken notice of a change, like he was growing wary of what he said and done; perhaps the knowing of having an inner self like Erotic Eren had forced him to try and retrace his actions?

He could see him propping his chin against his hand as his elbow rested against the armrest. He looked ready to fall asleep but his eyes remained open. How could anyone sit like that for hours on end? Well, six hours to be exact if one looked out the window to see the sun setting. A red glow of the last light of day was casting its gaze against Eren.

Signing the last paper, he got up. The chair's legs scrapped against the wooden floor, instantly snapping Eren to attention.

"It's getting cold in here," Levi started when he got to the fireplace.

He set the tinder into the iron braces and began to stack the wood in place so that when flames rose, they would catch fire well. With his back to him, he heard Eren say distantly,"Winter's coming."

"Something on your mind, brat?" He said, disregarding the statement.

He had gained Eren's confidence over the course of time, though how much he had was unknown to him. It surprised him when he heard Eren reluctantly say,"Yes, sir."

Levi struck a match and lit the tinder. After a few minutes of patience, a fire came roaring to life, enabling him to leave it to itself and turn to face Eren. He watched him carefully; the boy was tense, that was a good sign that comforted him. He stepped to the side, pulled a chair from near the wall, and sat himself in it with one leg crossing over the other. He placed himself in front of Eren.

"I...can't get over the fact that I raped you," he said rigidly.

_'He's showing profound guilt.'_

"I've told you before, it was Erotic Eren...you can't blame yourself if you're not the one truly doing it. I'm..." He trailed off for a moment until the words suddenly flowed out of him without his knowing. "...trusting you, Eren; just like you wanted me to, just as I told you I would. As much as it comforts me to hear you apologize for it, I'm not mad at you as a person. To know that you're capable of feeling guilt is more than enough to tell me you're not the one at fault."

It was difficult to say it to him but he felt more at ease to see the boy grow less tense. How can Levi continue to tell him it was alright? It was hard enough to look at him without seeing or worrying Erotic Eren would surface. It was hard to look at him and not think about-

His hand went to his neck to consciously touch the padding that rested under his shirt. The area felt numb, he would have to change the gauze tonight before bed. It shocked him that he managed to ignore the throbbing this far in the day, though he had to thank the narcotics he took from the infirmary. As he touched it, Eren perked up.

"You keep holding for that," he pointed out.

Levi couldn't remember doing so, it was probably one of those things you do and you don't pay attention to it. He absently let out an,"Oh," and shrugged his off, he brought his hand to his lap and held it as though he were restraining himself from coming into contact.

"May I asked what happened?" Eren inquired, worried eyes showing.

_'Again with that face...'_

"Hnm, you- ugh, Erotic Eren took a bite out of me," Levi grunted, lips slightly curling in a deeper frown,"it's fine. I'm fine."

Eren gave an uneasy nod. "...alright."

The clock ticked to the right, just by the window. An old grandfather clock it was. Brought in from the headquarters in the Karanese, Erwin had inherited it from the last Commander. It rang to tell the time: 1900.

Levi watched the pendulum swing a bit, then he brought his eyes back to Eren. "I figured out how you turn into Erotic Eren." Before he could question how, Levi lied by adding,"Hanji told me before she left."

He began to relay the details Ymir had told him; by the time he ended, the clock had reached 2000 and the bell struck once more. Eren had taken it in as much as he could; he had numerous questions but Levi couldn't answer most simply because of Ymir's reluctance to give anything else. At the end of it, Eren reached into his shirt and pulled out the key.

The key to his father's basement.

"...I remember him giving me an injection," he murmured, clenching it in his fist as though he were squeezing out its secrets. "I have a feeling that Erotic Eren isn't meant to be a part of me...maybe that's why I'm having difficulty trying to process its memories."

He hadn't told him of the types of Titan-shifters; not of the ones created or those born. He only gave the boy the concept (or Hanji's "hypothesis") of how Erotic Eren could appear. Naturally, as he agreed with Ymir and saw no need to tell Eren yet, he also neglected to tell him of Ymir herself. Russian was out of the conversation too for the moment.

"To add to that, you suffer from memory lapses," Levi murmured.

Upon touching this subject, his mind wandered to the last bit of his conversation with her. He hadn't reached that part yet, no, not yet. He was curious as to what the boy honestly thought of him. There was a thin line between admiration and affection.

Very thin, so fucking thin.

Levi didn't like the boy nor did he hate him. But, strangely enough despite all the happenings, there was a growing interest. It was budding, little by little; it was definitely there, it was small.

As Eren had grown quiet, Levi blatantly let out,"Do you want me?"

Eren's eyes widened, the key in has hand could have been bent, and his body went stiff. His body was obviously screaming the answer.

_'I hit a nerve.'_

"Sir?"

"I'm asking if you have an attraction towards me-"

"No, not at all. But I respect you! Deeply, I do! Besides, you're the greatest of them all...you probably didn't have someone to look up to when you first started," he tried to reason.

Levi lifted a brow. "Yes I did."

Eren grew silent and tucked away the key.

It was one of those instances where someone tells you that you were wrong and you have the sudden urge to prove the opposite. Impulsively, Levi let it slip from his tongue. When he gave that response, he mentally kicked himself and let out a sigh of admittance. The next thing he knew, he was saying it,"Emil Rochester. Ten years ago when I entered the Scouting Legion, he was an Officer at the time, not a Major. I knew him for six months, he showed me how to work with horses and use the Gear more efficiently, I began to look up to him.

"He was a clean freak as well, he loved to clean. What does one do when they admire someone? Mimic. It grew on me...but one day we were cleaning the barracks, next day, he was dead. I respected him and..."

Levi bit at his cheek, gnawing at it for a second, then he clucked his tongue.

"I _knew_ him well," he said, tone dropping just slightly but he got up to hide it,"...that's enough." He breezed by and headed for the door. "C'mon...let's go eat."

"Um, yeah," he said while up to him.

They walked through the hallway side by side, keeping a respectful distance between them.

_'Why did I tell him that?'_

"You're growing to trust me," Eren said as if he heard his mind speak.

"Oh?"

"Most of the time you've been learning of me...in all due respect, I hardly know of you."

It was true. Bit by bit, he found himself opening up to the boy.

In retrospect, Levi himself didn't have much to hide. No one other than Erwin and Hanji knew well of him; the others that spread rumors had either died or simply never asked for the truth.

"Well, what is it that you want to know?"

"...is it true you're from the Underground Network in the capital? Someone said you were," he tried to vaguely explain,"like a famous criminal of sorts."

"That's half true. I'm from there but I wasn't famous in any way. My mother was a prostitute," he simply put it, though he briefly glanced at Eren,"and before you judge, a mother is a mother. I didn't have the best life down there, not much to fight for as well." He gave a contemplative sigh. "When Erwin found me, I took his hand the first chance I had. It was either staying there or having a better life. I'm glad that my younger self had the consciousness to follow on for the latter."

Eren looked genuinely shocked but kept his expression limited to widened eyes.

They entered the mess hall where Scouts were dining noisily.

Friends that stayed back from joining other Scouts in the village, most of which were the trainees from Eren's days, were seated there. Their antics composed of the usual hype of being with one another as though the events unfolding between Levi and Eren were untouched. The rest were scattered, each drinking from flagons or smoking from pipes. However, he took notice of a group of three sitting in the far tables by the windows were conversing almost in secrecy; he recognized them all to be Jean, Mikasa, and Armin.

"Nowadays, I have something to fight for," he said, he then motioned to the three by the windows. "Go to your friends, I'll call you when I need you."

Eren nodded and walked away, he headed for their table as Levi spotted his own squad sitting about. He approached them and was greeted by Erd presenting him a cup of tea. Food was already set at their table, he took his serving and sat.

Petra and Aururo were situated at the far end, both strangely getting along without a bickering moment but at the sight of their Corporal, they grew quiet. Knowing his word can overpower theirs, he brushed off their silence and took his mug from Erd as he pulled a chair to sit down. He addressed them,"Were the books moved properly?"

"Yes, sir," Auruo said, taking his drink to his lips. "But…"

A heavy **thunk**! resounded from below the table, prompting him to bend over and slam his chin against the edge. Somehow, he bit his tongue as Petra was repositioning herself. Again, he ignored it. He would rather not have his team lose confidence in Eren; while they were aware of Erotic Eren, they knew not of what he did or what he was capable of. Well, Petra knew of it, but so far she kept to herself, though he had a feeling Auruo was beginning to catch on.

"Um…not everyone knows of Braun and Hoover taking off," Gunther reported,"trainees aren't acting up to find them. Should we still search for them?"

"No, but what are your thoughts?" Levi said, his mind hadn't mulled over the two in quite a while. He had been so wrapped up with Eren that he nearly forgot the very thing he had sought to pursue and even ordered for their capture. Hell, he was the one to deduce it was them as the culprits for burning up Hanji's lab. He had to think of a different approach to capture them.

The option of directly asking Erotic Eren if he had a part or knowledge on the perpetrators would always be there, though it would be a choice he would favor the least. Ymir could be a choice as well, but his agreement with her barred him from asking anything more than what he had learned. As long as she stayed in line, he saw no use to place restraints. The deal was held true.

His eyes wandered; he saw said woman with Christa eating whatever godforsaken thing was kept out of harm's way from Sasha. The blond girl could be used as leverage as needed but he didn't want to resort to that just yet.

"I say look for them, have the younger ones help us. Gunther and I only covered the western parts of the forests," Erd reasoned. Gunther and Auruo agreed, pressuring Petra as well to also comply.

"Comrades pursuing comrades? An obscure thing to do," Levi huffed as he leaned against the backrest. "We have an order of horses coming in to the nearest village in two days, the MP will be bringing them in and I have to be there to receive them. I need all of you to help me bring them back here, at the same time protecting Eren; I'm planning on bringing him with me. With him outside with us, it may draw the two kids out."

He produced a letter from his pocket and showed to to them they were dumfounded by his plan.

He handed it to Gunther to unfold and read aloud, just enough for Levi's squad to hear it.

When he was working among Erwin's papers, he discovered a parchment addressed for him (it was tucked between the documents). During his time in the office he read it over. Just as Eren had hypothesized a few days ago on the day of the lab being lit aflame, Erwin had reached the conclusion that those responsible for destroying information may also be the ones responsible for murdering Hanji's test subjects.

Strangely enough, he remembered his conversation with Armin._ "First, Hanji's Titans are slain. Second, her lab is set aflame. Third, we may as well lose Hanji or, at worst, Eren."_

Information was information. Eren's ability to turn into a Titan would be counted amongst that, without a doubt, Erwin predicted that the boy may possibly be targeted soon. It was all tied with one another. Erwin could have reached that conclusion as well. He left to protect Hanji but, as brilliant as the man was, Levi had a feeling there was something else.

Due to Erwin's reasoning, the letter held explicit instructions to watch over him as usual. However, with a threat slowly growing out of the suspected arsonists, they were also ordered to capture them when the time presented itself to be in their favor.

Levi had to take care of the shipment of new horses in two day's time. His planned clicked in their minds and they agreed to it without question.

They would cease their search of the runaway Scouts.

"Wait, this doesn't explain why Commander left," Gunther pointed out.

"For Hanji's safety," Levi stated, finally taking a sip from his tea. That was a reason good enough for them, their conversation eventually drifted elsewhere but his mind turned them out when his eyes drifted across the room, to Eren.

-...-

Mikasa remained quiet, she didn't bother to look at Eren when he took a seat by Armin. Their meals were nearly done but there was enough for Eren to have his helping.

Jean's flagon brushed against the worn table, easily catching Eren's attention as he took some bread. "You know anything about Reiner and Bertolt?"

_'They don't know about them.'_

"Not much, to be honest," Eren said uneasily.

"Bullshit, you spend more time with the Corporal than his own squad."

"Eren, as much as I hate to admit it, they may be possibly involved with the fire and, if you go back, perhaps Hanji's Titans," Armin voiced in,"the guilty run when they know they're being closed in."

Eren grimaced. "I mean, I know as far as you guys but not as much as that...you know who."

Jean's face contorted in confusion as he was suddenly ignored in the ensuing conversation.

"That Wanderer?" Armin asked, he did well to censor himself in front of Jean.

"Yeah, I have a feeling he has something to do about Reiner and Bertolt," Eren surmised.

Armin have a quick glance at Mikasa (in turn she gave him a look of warning but he dismissed it), then leaned by him to lower his voice to his ear,"If he knows something, you should draw him out and have him interrogated-"

"You don't know what he can do," Mikasa finally said, Eren couldn't help but agree with her.

"Yeah, you saw Hanji, right? You spent time with her, hadn't it occurred to you that this-" He stumbled in his words to correct himself. "-Wanderer...was the one who did it? She wasn't injured trying to get me out of the Titan, she had the lights beaten out of her. He's a danger to you, to everyone, especially to Corp-" He cut himself short, catching the words before they slipped his mouth.

He shifted about in his seat.

"I'm not letting him go, it's enough I have to worry about my Titan going out of control," he tried to reason.

"Your concern is understandable, but...if he truly knows about Reiner and Bertolt, we need to know too."

Eren drank a bit from a flagon already filled to wet his throat and down the bread more easily. As he tipped his head back, he took notice of Levi staring at him. For whatever reason it was, it was enough for Levi to stand up and take his leave. He didn't bother to call for Eren. Unknowing what he was thinking, Eren couldn't help but feel drawn to follow.

"Sorry guys, but I'll talk about it with Corporal. He might be leaning to that choice as well."

He also didn't feel well on discussing the subject of Erotic Eren with Armin, especially in front of Mikasa. The girl's eyes were suddenly trained on him, even as he got up and wiped his mouth. He dropped the cloth to his seat and immediately trailed after Levi, but he was stopped by Erd when the man stood up with the rest of the squad.

As Eren was escorted out of the mess hall by the team, Jean, still confounded, asked,"Who's the Wanderer?"

"A long story," Armin sighed, rubbing his eyes.

He chose not to say anything.

-...-

The next day greeted Eren in the mess hall with the squad accompanying him. They were given orders to watch over Eren once more but he didn't complain about it, though he was curious as to where Levi was. Said man eventually came during their conversations.

As he drew a chair out to sit at the head of the table, Eren blurted out to him in a murmur as he sat nearby,"You look a bit pale, sir."

Levi merely shrugged it off. "It's nothing."

Despite his appearance, the rest of them didn't acknowledge it. Plans of how they would arrive to the village and back were laid out on a map that was provided by Gunther, it drew their focus away as Levi consciously, and oh so gingerly, rubbed at his neck, applying a bit of pressure while giving a slightly pained look.

It was enough for the squad to be aware of Erotic Eren, their undying loyalty to Levi would surpass the feeble trust they established with the boy. Inwardly, Levi hoped that they never knew of his afflicted wound caused by Eren; should they learn of it, the bite upon his skin, surely they'd draw swords against him in an instant. Their judgement would be swayed and it would cause complications; he'd rather avoid that.

As Gunther traced the map, Levi placed his hand to the table to lean against the edge on his arm.

Unlike the others who were reading the map, Eren was watching him.

* * *

A/N: Levi is not attracted to Eren at all...yet, ha ha; interest and attraction are different. I want to make that clear for now. In regards to Levi's personal history, I want to play with a slightly different concept not traditionally seen by fans; more of it will be let out later on.


	16. Chapter 16

`I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** Will be taking Eren's POV for a chapter or so (this story was intended to be focused on Levi but the situation permits it to become otherwise). A bunch of Eren/Levi fluff heading your way. This chapter's quite lengthy, it's actually two chapters combined.

Regarding Levi's past relationships, two other people (other than Emil Rochester) were mentioned back in Chapter 8; pulling them out for now and tweeking the first few chapters later on. The changes won't be too drastic, point is, Levi had three other people that had significant roles in his life. Another tidbit is that Noir had been a part of Levi's life for seven years (therefore, he has been Lance Corporal for seven years); I have established that Levi himself had been in the Scouting Legion for ten years in total. However, I'm not going to be specific about his age.

While this story focuses on Levi himself, there will be additional moments that will be featuring Hanji; she's still important.

**In the Possible Future:**

Out of curiosity, how many of you people would like to see more fan fiction of Levi/Eren from me? Once I'm done with this story, I'm thinking of writing more for the pairing.  
By the way, since Halloween is coming up, I am going to write a horror fic specific to that; it'll take a month to write it as it will be a lengthy one-shot. I may as well let you all know; worry not, it will not hinder me from this story.

**Final Note:**

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT! For the reviewers, thanks for the feedback. I try to edit and review chapters as often as possible and, along the way, I also revise them for the purpose of fixing any flaws that appear in the text itself; I go through dialogues and try to fix what I can (I'm taking calmest . of .doves's opinion, I'll be much more careful *sweatdrops*). Anyway, what started out as a one-shot has now developed into an actual story that has pretty much been a hectic ride.

You guys wanted it so I came to deliver, ha ha. Indeed, I have began to take a serious tone to writing this as it has developed into a feasible plot with an obscure concept...I mean, seriously, Erotic Eren has now been taken in as a threat and you have Bertolt and Reiner gone. I'm just taking concepts listed in the first few chapters and growing it into relevant pieces to "A Change of Gait"'s plot.

OH! And guys, check out the new cover to this story! It's actually Corporal Noir and I in our Scouting Legion cosplay...ha ha, look at his bum, isn't it cute?  
Follow on tumblr: ask-corporal-noir

* * *

-Following Evening - Somewhere Outside Stohess-

"Oi, Hanji," Mike let out for the third time.

She unrolled herself from the blankets.

They had taken to sleeping in a town about an hour's worth away from the Stohess. They had a shared room though the three men had taken to sleeping the furthest away from her. She had enough strength to not rely on Moblit constantly, she demonstrated it by sitting up on her own, groggy from being awakened. She reached for her glasses at a nearby desk and stared up at his towering form.

"...what?" She mumbled.

"We're taking a side trip."

"Hnm...why?"

"Visiting Erwin's hometown, it's on the way there."

She rubbed her eyes. "Is his family there?"

By the dim light, she could see him frown. "I know you two hadn't been seeing eye-to-eye as of late, but...for his sake, just forgive him."

Hanji slowly processed his words and expression, then sighed,"Alright..."

"We'll be seeing his wife and daughter," he added, then he left as quietly as he came while dousing the candles. "Go back to sleep, you'll need the rest."

-...-

-Following Morning- Scouting Legion Headquarters-

It was cold.

So deathly cold.

The dew upon the grass had iced over night. Winter was getting closer, it was close enough to bite one's tongue.

Noir licked his upper lip and chewed lazily over nothing. His great nostrils emitted hot air that was reminiscent to the steam let off by a Gear. Most noticeably, his hair had grown in overnight; the thick plush of a winter coat made him look hulking and much more larger than he already was. Feathers had grown in around his fetlocks, they went on to a point of where his hooves were covered. Despite his large appearance, his blackness hid him in the shadows of the early morning.

Should one not have paid close attention, the individual would have missed him when passing by; it was only by his exhalation that Eren was able to see him.

Eren was directed to fetch him from the stables as Levi was preoccupied with something else. He was followed by Petra and Erd as they went to get their own horses that were housed parallel to Noir.

He greeted the horse by offering a handful of sugar cubes. Without taking a moment to sniff, Noir's lip dabbed away and his tongue licked his hand clean.

"You love sugar, don't you?" He murmured softly as Noir rubbed the pole of his head against Eren's shoulder. The boy chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

Yesterday consisted of planning their overall trip.

The Military Police would bring the fresh horses to the village around the first light of dawn. There was an estimated number of fifty horses; the team itself, plus Eren, consisted of six individuals. An hour was all it took to get to the rendezvous but, luckily, Levi had decided to have Ness and Cis meet them halfway to herd groups of horses back to their headquarters.

Eren had gotten a fair gist of their plan; about three or four round trips in total.

They were short on horses themselves (most Scouts had taken them for their own visits to the village), hence the inability for other Scouts to participate in the herding. Even Eren would have to ride with Levi. That thought alone made him brought an uncomfortable feeling that nagged more than a braying mare.

After his hands gathered the ropes and undid the ties, he brought Noir's head down and haltered him. While doing so, he wondered how it will be done.

"It" meaning how he would ride with Levi.

Hell, why would the older man allow Eren to ride with him? He could have had him double with Erd or Petra as their horses were large enough to carry two without breaking a sweat. But no, Levi wanted him nearby in close quarters. He didn't question his decision...at least in person.

The passed few days had been chaotic, at least to him. He was sure Levi was experiencing a great amount of stress but Eren attempted to take numerous, mental precautions to ensure he wouldn't find himself elsewhere.

It scared him. It scared him worse when he awoke in Levi's bed, naked and tangled in the sheets. When he saw Levi himself standing at the door with numerous bruises and red marks stretching down his skin, he couldn't comprehend that he would have the right mind to do it.

_'No, it couldn't be me, I wouldn't do that to anyone, let alone him. I know...that it was me and yet I know that it's something else entirely bringing him pain.'_

Who would he hurt next? Who would he kill? Would he have the capability to do so? Probably...

_'Anyone could be in danger, really...Hanji was a close call.'_

He brought Noir to the tack room and saddled him accordingly, then he added a second blanket to tuck it behind the cantle so that he would have a good seating on his hip. He adjusted the straps and tightened the cinch. As he finished the last of the buckles, he thought of Petra. Out of everyone in Levi's team, she had the best idea of what was happening and, oddly, he felt he could confide in her.

She walked by, leading her gray horse with the reins.

She had taken to wearing a thick cloak. In fact, it was the winter cloaks soldiers wore when the weather turned nippy. They were long and reached to their knees with the furs lining the inside and outer edges with the Wings of Freedom stitched to their backs. Obviously, these weren't in use for Gears; neither of them had the need to bring them for the trip.

Instead, each were armed with rifles in case the need for defense rose. Eren had just fixated the sheathe to Noir's saddle, all that was missing was the rifle itself. Petra held hers in her other hand.

And for their outfits? They took the appearance of civilians.

"Petra," he called to her, taking Noir with him.

She stopped and smiled pleasantly, though it looked slightly forced as she spoke with a hot breath steaming from her mouth,"What is it?"

"Unm...I don't want to ride with Levi," Eren stated,"would it be better for me to ride with you?"

Before she could answer, Levi appeared from the double doors that served as the entrance. In hand was his rifle, in another was a saddle bag and an extra winter cloak tucked under his armpit; he approached without skipping a beat of his feet, quickly gaining ground and breaking any conversation. He tossed the saddle bag to Noir's shoulders, then gave Eren the winter cloak.

"I was busy fetching this from the basement," he said with a raw voice. He cleared it and wiped at his forehead the back of his wrist. Eren was drawn to his appearance; his eyes were slightly red and the face of his skin was flushed. When Levi caught him staring, he turned away and began to attach the saddle bag accordingly. "Put that on."

"Yes, sir," Eren said, throwing the cloak over his coat.

"Petra, are the others ready?" Levi asked as he stowed the rifle into the saddle's sheathe.

She gave a short nod. "Yes, sir. Auruo and Gunther are waiting outside with the leads, Erd is just about done."

"Good, go to them, we'll be leaving shortly," he said, trying to keep his speech quick.

The woman left by mounting her horse and trotting away. Noir pawed the bricked floor, he wanted to leave just as well. Levi turned and, with those cold, steel eyes, glared at Eren.

"I want you to be the one riding him, I'll be behind you," Levi said unpleasantly.

He always sounded rough to Eren. He watched the man pull himself up and then scoot over the cantle so that he would sit on the blanket. Eren hesitantly took his seat in front of him and grabbed the reins. He clucked gently, prompting Noir to begin walking for the entrance of the courtyard.

"Sir, I'm sorry but...why are we riding together?" Eren asked, though he kept his voice quiet.

Levi didn't answer. Instead, he felt the man's hands rest themselves at his hips to brace himself. Nothing was said until they met up with the others.

Ness and Cis had joined but they had taken to riding off ahead of them by the time Noir reached the group. Auruo was gathering up the ropes as Gunther was tying his own at the horn of his saddle. Each were cloaked in green to combat to morning chill with their hands hiding into the folds but only peeking to hold their reins. Eren walked Noir in several circles, then stopped him.

"We'll be in the center," Levi stated,"Erd, your horse is going to be faster than mine, go in front of us."

"Will do, Corporal," Erd said, and quickly they fell into formation with Eren and Levi situated in the center.

Gunther stood behind, Petra and Auruo were to their sides.

They started at an easy walk, letting their horses catch their warmth and awaken their bones. Then they trotted. Soon, the canter. Finally, they were tearing through the fields. The wind picked up, causing their cloaks to pillow behind them but they pressed on. Eren could feel the raw power below himself as Noir's hooves dug into the earth, though his seating provided a smooth ride.

Levi still held his grip, he was depending on Eren for balance.

This formation wasn't new to the boy but normally they would converse and laugh with one another.

Was it the morning that made them sleepy? Was it the fact that they knew of Erotic Eren that made everyone, especially Petra, have those quiet faces that didn't look directly at him? He grew conscious of their thoughts but he couldn't speak, he didn't want to. He leaned a bit more forward in his saddle to the momentum of Noir and went on.

-...-

The village was half asleep when they arrived. Their horses brayed and snorted, each of them pawing the ground anxiously. Noir quietly lowered his head and went into a slow walk that held more spirit than the others. He felt Levi clench at his hips, Eren glanced over his shoulder.

"Sir?"

"Nothing," Levi murmured, though he let out a soft groan.

"...how's your neck?"

"It's fine."

They didn't exchange much while pass through the quiet street. The further the went, the louder the sound of men talking and horses crying became. Upon nearing the central part of town, the insignias of the Military Police dotted the square upon the backs and chests of the soldiers. Horses, about four dozen of them, were tied off or held by the handlers.

When the group made themselves known by stopping before them, they were approached the unsavory fellow of Nile Dawk, the current Commander of the Military Police. He gave a sweeping look at each Scout, then indignantly questioned,"Where's Smith?"

"Off to the Stohess, personal matters arose," Levi answered, sliding off the side of Noir to meet him in person. He reached into the saddle bags and pulled out documents. Nile frowned as he was handed the paperwork, hands shaking from the cold. Fingers nimbly ruffled through them. "Proof I come on his behalf."

Nile gave a thoughtful nod, then he glanced up at the five Scouts on their horses. "This is all you have?"

"We're short on the horses if you hadn't noticed why you're here," he said, tone unchanging. Nile gave a shrug, uncaring for their situation, as he waved a hand to signal for the first string of a dozen horses to be given to the Scouts. As they set the ropes accordingly, Nile turned away, keeping the papers to himself.

Levi turned and directly met Eren's eyes. The look he gave made the boy slightly sink into the saddle.

"Get off of Noir, go and choose your horse," Levi instructed, motioning his chin to the untouched horses. He took Noir's reins to accentuate his words. Eren immediately slid off, Levi took to walking ahead for a tie down in front of a tavern.

Erd's voice rang out,"We'll be going, Corporal."

Levi acknowledged them with a wave and they went off, taking a dozen steeds back to their headquarters. The rest of the Military Police lounged about, waiting to go back to the capital once the drop off of horses was done. Eren turned his head away and headed for some that were tied off by a wooden post. An MP soldier stood nearby, hands folded over her chest as a hood was pulled over her head; she was leaning against a wagon.

Eren's brow creased at seeing the familiar, white hood, then he breathed out,"Annie?"

She looked up to reveal the bored face of an old classmate. "You're here."

"For a while, yeah. I was brought here to accompany him." He pointed a thumb towards Levi in the distance. "Are you doing alright on your end?"

Annie have a shrug as though she cared less of what her part is.

Eren shook his head. She hadn't changed much. He decided to move on. "I need a new horse."

She motioned with her arm. "Have fun. Most of them are fresh from training but you're still going to have to take a month to get used to it-"

"The season for expeditions is over, he'll have enough time," came Levi as he neared them without Noir. Eren stepped aside when the man drew close to a dappled gray. He brought his hand to the dappled gray's shoulder. "Had you found a horse, Eren?"

"No, sir, I was about to though," he sheepishly said with a smile. Annie's eyes seemingly narrowed and looked away, her business no longer concerning them.

The dozen horses Annie watched over faced them, some had their ears pricked back and lips twitching as though they didn't take a good liking to them. Others chewed their bits, some nipped away at the other necks around them. Each of them were saddled with their appropriate saddles and bridles.

Eren looked left and right, then his eyes settled upon a white horse that was pure as the fresh fallen snow, though its muzzle was gray; what struck out most were her eyes, both of which were blue as the skies above. It stood at the far end, quietly minding itself and occasionally rubbing its head against a post to take care of an itch. Eren neared it and stretched out his hand, slowly, and the horse immediately brought its nose to his skin to take in his scent.

"Looks quiet," Levi commented, he raised his voice to Annie,"untie this one for us."

She approached them and undid the tie of the white horse. She brought it around the post and offered the reins to Eren. "This one's a mare. We call her Blanche. About five years, stands at fifteen and a half hands so she'll grow just a bit. Sound footing, knows the whistle, and does verbal commands."

"Can she handle a Gear?" Levi inquired as Eren took the reins and led the white mare about, testing to see her compliance.

"They're all conditioned accordingly by the Training Division," she answered promptly.

He stopped the horse. The mare's big, blue eyes stared at him, waiting patiently for him to get on. He heard the hushed whispers of Levi and Annie speaking, then he brought one leg into a stirrup; he swung himself up and settled himself properly. The mare quietly waited, then he nudged her forward. She walked about in the street, then he trotted her when he felt comfortable.

Up and down, he started posting until he began to canter her.

She was just as responsive to his hands and heels like Noir was. He passed the stallion several times, then brought Blanche to a stop in front of Levi after an hour's worth of riding.

"Is she good enough?" Levi asked with a dry voice; there was a hint of approval in his eyes.

No matter how small it was, it was enough to make Eren's heart skip a beat.

However, it was the pursed lips that killed it.

"She's not like the bay that had a nice trot...but I guess a change of gait is in order," he said, trying to lighten up the mood. For a brief moment, he thought he saw Levi crack a smile but it faded within seconds. Levi approached the mare's head and touched about her mouth, then her ears and cheek.

He gave a contemplative look at the mare's eyes, then let out a barely audible murmur of,"Gisbert had one like you," as he stroked her forelock.

Annie stood a good distance away, once again, looking aloof.

"Gisbert?" Eren let out.

"An old..._friend_," he let out uneasily,"he died in the forest seven years ago; he was Noir's previous owner and the former Lance Corporal. He loved his horses and taught me what he could; he showed me a lot about Noir before he..." He shook his word away and then raised his voice. "He'll be taking this one."

She gave a nod and turned to face an Officer that had caught her attention.

Levi's breathing sounded forced but he shook his head as though her were trying to fight away sleep. He had his hood pulled over his face, blocking it from Eren's view. He made a motion for Eren to dismount,; Eren did so and he was led to the tavern's tie-down where Noir was standing about, shoulders flexing as he nibbled at a nearby bush.

Blanche was tied a decent distance from him to prevent the stallion from growing too curious.

"Come, I reserved us a table," Levi said, stepping up the stairs for the tavern. "The others will take hours getting the horses...it's better to be in a warm room for now."

-...-

The chill air was blown away by the heat that poured from the opened door. Eren walked inside first, causing the warmth to thaw out his skin and leave a comforting glow. The tavern had a few familiar faces, at least to Levi; none of Eren's known friends were present. However, there was a quiet lull as most were slowly awakening from their slumbers or nursing their hangovers with food and drink.

"You're not going to work with them?" He meant the squad that would be taking the horses back to their headquarters.

"I have to keep an eye on the horses here...prevent these idiots from selling them off; as long as I stay, they wouldn't think of it." He let out a snort. "Rotten bastards."

Levi took him to a table that faced the window. From there, they had a view of all the horses, along with their own. Levi pulled himself a chair and undid his cloak, he hung it on another as Eren situated himself across from him.

A sleepy barmaid came by and gave warm milk in metal mugs; the tavern apparently had a policy to not serve alcohol too early in the morning.

"You have a disliking towards them?" Eren asked, though it was a rather dumb question considering Levi was the type to resent anything. Or so, that was how Eren saw him.

It was true. Eren hardly knew of the Corporal. Only two days ago did the man begin to open up to him while being fully away of it; as it turned out, Levi was quite the honest person when it came to matters concerning himself. It didn't hurt to ask him of anything, right?

Levi's face, strangely flushed, contorted into a disdainful expression. "No shit. My father was one of them...fucked off after one go at my mother. Then again, he was just one of the many customers mother had." He brought the mug to his lips and drank heartily. A bit of the white dribbled from his lips but he wiped it away. "Assholes, the lot of them."

"Did you ever try to find your father?"

The man glared at him as though it were much more stupider than the last. Eren felt a bit of shame but was surprised for Levi to tell him,"I tried to for a while when I was young. The problem was that she never remembered him but no matter..." He shrugged. "You can't miss what you never had."

His eyes drifted to the window to keep an eye out for the horses.

It grew quiet between them.

Eren quietly sipped at his drink as the tavern began to rouse itself some more. Groaning customers were getting up and out, others were sitting and trying to heal themselves.

His mind drifted to the conversation he held with Armin. "...I'm wondering about something."

"Say it," Levi ordered.

"What if Erotic Eren has the information you need? If you...talk to him some more, maybe he would tell you what you need to know."

Levi let out a _"tch"_ and replied,"I've been thinking the same. With you being unable to merge memories with it, we'll have no choice but to let the bitch out for interrogation...I definitely know he has something to do with Bertolt and Reiner. Most possibly, if those two were responsible for setting the lab aflame, they must have planted Ilse's notebook in your room for Erotic Eren to use.

"Typically, the door to your room is unlocked. Who knows, they slipped in and left it there for you to find. Erotic Eren came out, wrote in it, and left it accordingly for those two to pick up. Once more, the notebook was found twenty kilometers from our base; it was dropped in hopes of you to find it. There were two types of penmanship in the notebook as far as I can remember."

He had his hands up as though he were agreeing with his own theory.

"That's my opinion on it. In the end, the notebook was burned away by Ymir, whatever was said is known only by Erotic Eren; Ymir won't help much either-"

Eren only caught on to the second time Ymir was mentioned. "Wait, wasn't part of Ilse's notebook written in Russian? You mean Ymir could read it?"

"Apparently-"

"How come she burned it?"

"Erotic Eren threatened her with Christa-"

"Why Christa?"

"Because they're in love-"

"They're together-?"

"Are you _that_ dense?" Levi uttered, eyes turning to slits out of irritation.

Eren chewed a bit on his bottom lip. "Sorry, sir."

"Anyway...the issue of letting Erotic Eren out is that it would be a wasted effort. You think if he said anything now, we'd be having to look for the two kids that ran off by now? All I could get was what he wanted and a few taunts here and there."

"Anything specific he said?"

Levi whetted his lips and slipped out as though it were an ordinary word,**"Predstavleniye."**

Eren had heard that word before. It echoed through his ears as if he locked it away; a voice from within told him its meaning, though not in a recognizable way. Hearing it recalled an instinct he never knew he had. "_Submission_," he replied automatically,"you just said '_submission'_."

The older man stared at him, brows creasing. "I thought you didn't know Russian."

His hand wandered to the right. From there, Eren could see that he brought the rifle from his saddle. Eren immediately held up his hand, a wild guess at seeing Levi readying to defend himself. "Corporal, it's me, Eren!"

Levi didn't stop there. He took a firm grasp at the body and brought it to his lap, though he was quiet about it to prevent the tavern from throwing itself into a blind hysteria. He tucked the barrel of the rifle under the table but Eren could feel the tip brushing against his inner thigh. He didn't understand why he was doing it but he feared the result of his rationale.

_'Why is he threatening me? Why now? I thought he knew who I am...'_

"Don't you know who I am?" Eren pleaded. If he got up to run, he would be shot. If he said something wrong, he would be shot. Even if he had the ability to regenerate, the pain would overtake him; human instincts kicked in at the sign of danger, self-preservation was on his mind. He would have acted aggressively but, with the sudden appearance of the gun, he felt his confidence rip away.

_'I'm scared because...I thought he trusted me enough.'_

"Why did you join the Scouting Legion?" Levi questioned.

Eren froze.

"Answer it-"

"To go beyond the walls and fight by your side!" He blurted instantly.

Levi gave a curt nod and retracted the rifle. He propped it against the wall and let out a soft sigh as though he were relieved by his response. Eren sunk back into his seat though he ran a hand through his hair.

"Why did you point it?"

"Hanji isn't here to run tests on you so I'm going to have to do them myself, bit by bit of course."

The boy cautiously stared at him. "Well...I hope you came to a conclusion."

"I did," he simply replied, taking the mug to drink. "One; you don't necessarily turn into Erotic Eren just by a Russian word alone, you may need the right combination of words, to be specific. Two; the fact that you translated what I said tells me that your beginning to properly merge with your Titan's...whatever the fuck the word is - hm, consciousness, I guess. Three; though it may be a guess, you may be starting to show a bit of dominance over the bastard, thus, preventing him from coming out."

Eren gave an uneasy nod. "...this may be a thought, but maybe I'm subconsciously holding him down as I'm growing aware of him; I want to protect others from myself."

Levi's eyes widened slightly as though he agreed to it. He mused,"Protect others..."

"Most of all...you suffered the most from him so far- I'd like to prevent anymore of it from happening again." He couldn't believe the words were flowing out. "I want to protect you."

A long pause.

He didn't expect Levi to praise him or offer any words of succor. As one of the many options Eren expected, the man pushed back his chair and got up. He didn't say anything as he took his rifle and headed for the door. Eren's shoulders faltered and he dropped his gaze to his drink. He got up and noticed that he left his winter cloak.

Upon gathering it, he followed Levi into the cold.

_'Was it something I said?'_

-...-

Eren found Levi standing against the railing of the tavern's porch. He was kneeling against it, hunched over, watching the horses as his team returned for probably the to fetch what was their third set of dozen. The boy approached him and draped the man over with the cloak.

"You forgot this inside," he said quietly, timid of what he would say next.

Levi brought a hand out and made a gesture. "Stand by me."

Eren did so. He, too, leaned against the wooden railing and looked out into the distance. He remained quiet.

"Emil said the exact thing," he heard Levi muse; he was reminiscing, an unsuspecting thing for someone like him to do. "..._'I want to protect you.'_...yeah, that was him. _'I want to fight by your side.'_ That was Gisbert. And..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Pierre, hn, you're missing one more thing but I can feel it...I swear, Eren, when you say such things you're almost like three of them combined. It's funny how fate is."

He swore he heard the man chuckle, a part of him tried to convince himself it was Noir snorting beside them.

Levi wrapped the cloak accordingly and drew the hood over his head. Eren could see the pale hands shiver just slightly as hot air resonated from him. Even as the sun peeked over the rooftops of the buildings, the air still bit them.

He braced his hands against the railing, though they began to feel numb. He reasoned,"Fate's just given you a replacement."

"A while back, Hanji reminded me that you can't die, that's an attribute of you that I've been considering for quite a while," Levi murmured. He then looked over his shoulder and up at the boy. "Tell me, can you die like them?"

"Like who?"

He saw Levi's face quite clearly, up close he could see the red suddenly much more profound in his heavy eyes. Was he crying? No, there were no tears streaming his face nor was he letting out sobs.

"The ones who left first," he reiterated with a slight rasp but it made less sense to Eren.

"I...I'm not sure if I can die, I can have fear but to have death, that's something I don't know of. I'm scared of it being possible and-"

Levi leaned up and stood just to be at Eren's height. His hand rose to cup a finger under his chin to direct him close so that Eren tipped his head low. He certainly wasn't expecting this. No, not at all. He felt cold, dry lips against his own, though it was chaste and lasted no longer than a peck. Despite its brief moment, it set Eren's heart beating faster than the hooves of Erd's horse.

It was his first kiss.

As quick as it came, Levi went back to leaning against the railing as though nothing had happened.

_'He's...attracted to me?'_

Levi suddenly deadpanned,"I don't like you in any way."

For the first time, Eren was willing to start an argument with the strongest man. "In all due respects, sir...what the hell? You point a gun at me, you kiss me, then you say you don't like me-"

Even verbally, Levi overpowered him.

"My reasoning will be for the good of us. Trust me like I'm trusting you right now. A kiss between two people isn't limited to being just a sign of affection, it's also a sign of acceptance, of trust. I accept you as Eren, and I trust you to be who you are when I confide myself to you."

It comforted him to hear the man say such a thing. His racing heart began to beat normally.

_'He never directly told him that he trusted me. He's ordered for me to do so to him...maybe **now** he's choosing to trust me? Whatever he says is law, so...'_

"Corporal-" But he fell short of his word. He quieted himself when he noticed that the man was unwilling to engage in further conversation. He was confused about the kiss itself, naturally. His hand went up to touch his lip where Levi briefly came into contact with, then he reached out to Levi's shoulder to turn him; that night when Levi forced himself to perform a certain -ahem- act, he wasn't given so much as an explanation but at least there was a sincere apology afterwards.

This time, he felt that he wasn't going to let Levi keep him in the dark of things.

"Why?"

"I just told you why," Levi uttered,"I trust you- hn..." Those eyes scanned Eren's person. Yes, the boy was blushing indeed. "Oh...Hanji's right. " His pursed lips curled down to a frown. "You lied the other day; you _do_ have an attraction towards me."

"Admiration," Eren corrected him as he released the man and allowed him to return to his perch against the railing.

"Wrong. When you mix admiration with your emotions to protect me, it's a definite sign of having affections."

Eren was flustered by this. He answered his own question.

True, he wanted to protect him. True, he did admire him greatly. But...was it true that mixing those two together, one gains an attraction? Well, he had his hidden interests in the Corporal ever since that night when he was forced into a punishment* that was, by his own mind, a guilty pleasure. Just by that, maybe he _did_ have a growing attraction towards the man that stood by.

He had the time to embrace it unconsciously but it was only now that he was forced to address it. However, Levi's words severed through his thoughts,"However...let me make this clear to you; I won't love you back."

"It's understandable," he tried to draw out; it truly was, he was definitely expecting such words to come out of him anyway.

"It won't be at first. Titan or not, immortal or not, you're still just a kid, you need to prioritize things in your life. Get your emotions straight...then we can figure things out from there."

_'Things? What things? There's more to it than my emotions, isn't that right-?'_

Levi suddenly let out a cough but he muffled it with his cloak.

"Sir, are you sick?"

"No, Eren, I'm fine."

He couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or if he was being serious.

He just stood there, but his right hand went up to touch the supposed wound upon his neck.

Eren decided to take a spot by his side. He let out a soft sigh, a small smoke of white rose from his nose. Among the nickers of horses and the occasional shouts of men, he murmured,"I trust that you're alright."

* * *

*Remember that scene in back in Chapter 2?...yeah, it's stated in Chapter 4 that Eren actually enjoyed it; I'm building up on it up right now


	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** There is not a specific reason for Erwin and Hanji's fight beforehand, I just needed it to happen. As they are just a developing side-plot, I'm not going to give them as much attention; as a result, some parts will be spotty and will only need the implied ideas to create their story.

Thank you so much for the reviews! Keep up your support!

Oh, also feels are coming your way...

* * *

At around noon came a lively town that was nestled about a dozen kilometers from Wall Sina.

Dark clouds formed overhead but the thought of the weather didn't deter them from their excursion outside the main path. Hanji rode by Mike as Erwin kept his distance from them a few paces away. She was informed of this last night but wasn't told much of the details by Erwin himself; she didn't put up a resistance as familial matters were inherent tasks to attend to.

Internally, she had taken to forgiving Erwin. However, she hadn't told him.

Mike's nose sniffed the air for a moment, then he shrugged it away by wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve. "The air smells like water," he commented more to himself.

She tightened her hold on her blanket and snuggled herself deeper into the saddle. "I never knew he was from here."

"I do," Mike replied,"does it pose a significance to you?"

"Not really...I just remember passing through it with my father, years ago," she murmured. "From what he told me, they make the best vine."

Around the outskirts of the town were numerous vineries and acreages of the grapes used in the liquid. They went on through the side streets to avoid the townspeople that would recognize Erwin; he wasn't willing to deal with attention for the day as their visit would only be brief.

After a long while, going passed the bustle of people that went about their lives from one street to another, they settled upon an open plot land that stretched itself from a single distillery to the edge of a wooded forest. The land was isolated from the main parts of town by a steam that came in behind a bend in the forest.

Unlike the other vineries that had groves of grapes, the land had been forgotten with weeds growing here and there, fences were falling apart, and a lonely, two story home that had seen its good share of years sat amongst the mess of it all. Its windows were boarded and nailed shut, only out of protection from any thieves that dared to go inside.

_'This can't be the home of a family, it looks like it's falling apart.'_

Erwin quietly dismounted, so did Mike and Moblit. Hanji was aided down by her assistant and had her horse led away.

"Quaint home," Hanji murmured, looking up at the building.

"It has its charms," Erwin said; it was the first words he told her that day. He made a gesture for her to follow him, she complied but found that he wasn't leading her towards his house; he was leading her through the open field. She gained ground to walk beside him, then she realized that Mike and Moblit weren't following.

She didn't say anything, she only followed him.

_'Didn't Mike say we were going to meet his wife and daughter? Why's he taking me to the field?'_

"Is your family nearby?" Hanji asked when Erwin brought her to the edge of the forest outside. The sight of Erwin's land had already given her dreadful signs of where this was going. She fidgeted a bit with her arm's sling, already guessing his answer.

Erwin didn't look at her. "You can say that."

Eventually, they emerged into a clearing where the brush was scarce and the trees were spread apart to offer what felt like a haven of sorts. Upon the grass covered around where numerous flowers that had grown but they weren't weeds. Poppies and lilacs lined the forest floor with their red and white, a few irises had sprouted as well; however, they were withering for the season.

What struck Hanji the most amongst all of it were two wooden crosses that was situated in the middle of them all; one tall and one short.

They weren't marked. Anyone who would walk by would have ignored them as they were rare symbols; their meaning was unknown to most as bodies were normally cremated within the Walls. In her line of work, she knew all too well what they were; those who held importance to the Scouting Legion were given any marks upon the land.

Hanji stopped, she was unwilling to come near so she watched him approach the two crosses.

"Hanji," Erwin's voice came, snapping her into attention,"come, I want you to meet my wife and daughter."

Hesitantly, she moved forward and found herself by his side once more. When she drew close enough to him, he led her closer until they were standing before the crosses; the wooden stakes were at the height of their waists, he knelt down and then offered his hand to her as he sat upon the grass. She took his palm and lowered herself gently until she was beside him on the ground.

"You weren't the only one who lost family that day," he explained once they were settled together. "After I delivered your mother and your father's possessions to you, I received word of my wife going into labor, I couldn't make on time to get to her from Shiganshina. By the time I arrived, she was gone, along with our daughter."

Hanji bit her bottom lip. She had known him since her youth and yet she had never heard of this from him. She remembered waking up in her home, alone, in the Karanese to find Lance Corporal Gisbert Cheval and (at the time) Officer Erwin Smith at her door; both men had her mother in tow and what was left of her father, a pair of broken goggles.

Erwin was the last to have seen Commander Zoe alive and, somehow, was able to gather the last piece of him; she remembered breaking down at her doorstep, holding the goggles as her mother would hardly say a coherent word. Thoughts of her mother reminded Hanji that they were currently on their way to the Stohess to see her.

She knew little of his pains, so why now? Why did he decide to tell her about himself now?

As she tried to place it together, the next statement he said made her lose track of everything,"You said you wanted Titan children...you know that's an impossible thing."

"Well, you said you'll get me more Titans in replacement, though doing it now seems a bit improbable"

"Having children isn't."

_'Oh...'_ It clicked in her that he was proposing himself to her. Could it be, that over the years, he had grown fond of her? Perhaps their fight was enough to bring this indirect confession out. He tended to be a vague man from time to time. All vile thoughts of him vanished, she could only feel pity for him. Her eyes widened as she blurted,"I don't...think I'm capable."

He gave a heavy sigh and reached into his pockets.

_'I shouldn't have said that...it's enough I feel horrible now.'_

He quickly changed the subject to save face. She picked up on this and decided to not touch it for a while.

"I had these repaired for you while we were back in that village by headquarters," he said while taking out a small item wrapped in cloth, he held it before so that her free hand could undo the wrappings. She found it to be her goggles, the lenses no longer cracked with a new elastic band to keep it tighter when she wore it. She took it by the band and held it close.

"Strange, isn't it?" She asked of him, frowning at the sight of it. "This is the second time you've given this to me but now you've repaired it."

Erwin gave her a warm smile, then he stood up. "I didn't have enough coin before. You don't owe me, now it's my job to make sure that my soldiers are well." He looked up at the sky. "Let's get going, Mike mentioned something about the rain coming soon."

-...-

Ness and Cis hadn't returned with their last shipment yet.

Christa leaned against the window, Sasha was nearby skinning a potato for dinner as Connie had taken to tending the fire. The young blond had peeled her share and was taking a break; her back rested against several crates as her arm braced herself against the windowsill. She gave a tired yawn, it was that sort of time in the afternoon where the drowsiness would overcome one's mind, especially during any sort of labor.

"A storm's coming," she murmured, looking on to the horizon; eyes were half-lidded but they were trained to the skies.

"I hope they get the last horses in before it comes," Sasha said with a bright smile. She was one of the many who needed a replacement after the last expedition, she had her first share at the stocks and found a fiery buckskin that had a smooth gait. Naturally, she was more than happy to have a new horse.

Ymir came in, she was hauling in a barrel with ease though Christa got up to help keep the door open. The taller girl thanked her and placed the barrel in one of the stands by the storage area for liquor, then she went to wash her hands free of grime and dirt. "Gerger brought back some vine...guess the seniors are having a party tonight or something."

"Getting new horses to celebrate it? That man is always looking for a reason to drink," Connie nearly laughed.

Christa grimaced. "Yeah, but not as bad as Auruo; you leave a bottle on the counter and then it's gone before you can blink!"

"Hm...I hear the Commander drinks the very evening after an expedition," Sasha voiced in.

They drawled on about the drinking habits of any Scout they knew, they found themselves laughing until the door flew open from the mess hall. Each of them grew quiet when Mikasa burst forth Armin trailing by her, telling her,"We can't go now. If Levi's squad couldn't find them, I doubt we can get anywhere as well."

"If they couldn't find them, I'm going to have some doubt in their abilities to protect Ere-" She blazed by and went out the other door that led to the courtyard, the slamming of it cut her voice off but Armin opened it once more, following her by her heels just as he was earlier. Her voice rang for a moment,"I don't care if it rains," before being consumed, for the second time, by the door's clatter.

The scene was brief and left the recruits in silence.

"...hey, Christa," Ymir started as she slid off her apron and hung it by the door, she then went to her side and lowered her voice,"do you want to go to the village with me tonight? We're already done with the kitchen."

Christa rubbed her eyes. "Now? But the storm...why do you need to go?"

"Drinking of course," she said with a shrug to such a useless reason but the look she was giving her was a sign of something else.

"I'll come with."

-...-

Skies darkened overhead, clouds have formed over the passing hours. Each gray form slowly blotted out the rays of the sun.

Levi shielded his eyes for a moment to stare at it, then traversed back into the tavern for the fifth time that evening.

"The last of the horses are gone," he told Eren as the barmaid took away their plates. Most of the day was spent in the tavern, at least for Eren's case. He had grown bored, even fidgety; the older man not speaking to him didn't make the situation better but having him around was much easier to embrace. Levi took his seat back and leaned against the backrest.

For every time Levi had went out, the man had gotten weaker. His breathing became labored and his eyes became redder; his skin was flushed from the heat of both his furs and of the tavern. However, when Eren tried to reach out, he would be swatted away stubbornly both physically and verbally. Silently, Eren wished for the group to return so that they would force Levi to seeing a doctor soon.

The hand pressed against the table's surface trembled.

"We're going-"

Thunder flashed outside, causing the building to shudder violently. Levi gave out a soft groan as Eren tried to tell him,"There's a storm-"

"-no shit-"

"-and I don't think it'll be safe."

"We need to get back, I only brought enough coin for food and drink," Levi snapped,"don't suppose you have anything to pay for a room, do you?"

Eren frowned. "It's in my room."

"Thought so."

Levi struggled to get up, his legs shook but he fought off the spell for a moment. He wiped away the sweat across his brow and headed to the door for the sixth time. Eren got up and accordingly followed, only to be blasted in the face by a chill wind that had swept by. With the fresh horses picked up and gone, the Military Police had taken to leaving; they hadn't bothered to keep a night of revelry as they had better preferences back in the Districts of the Walls.

The villagers hadn't shown themselves throughout the afternoon but most seemed relatively glad that the soldiers had left; they were more in favor of the Scouting Legion rather than the Military Police.

Noir pawned the earth, his great back shook the saddle with every step. Levi reached out to him with a shaking hand and padded him at his forelock. Eren had taken to leading Blanche away from her tie down. As they set up their horses, the distant beats of hooves began to approach them. It was Levi's team, they had arrived half an hour before they were expected.

"We have to leave!" Petra shouted while reining in her gray. There was a look of urgency in her eyes, a distraught tone filled her voice, and her horse was no less nervous than she was.

Eren peeked over his saddle to see Levi leap up onto Noir's back with slight difficulty; the hood was pulled over to hide his pale-stricken face from the others. His hoarse voice broke through,"What's the matter?"

"Thunder, what more can you expect?" Gunther rang out, though simultaneously the sky lit up with a bright light that streaked under the clouds. Blanche let out a frightened whine and bobbed her head, a sure sign of disliking the atmosphere. As though the message weren't passed through to Levi, the man took Noir's reins and walked him in a tight circle before addressing them.

Levi cleared his throat and huffed out,"Storm or no storm, it's-" A cough. "-dangerous to stay here with Eren. We need to get home."

"Corporal, are you sure?" Eren called to him.

By this point, rational thought seemed absent in Levi. It was seen throughout the day. First his movements and now his words.

"Don't fight him!" Auruo tersely warned him, oblivious to the Corporal's health.

Eren could have countered him, he could have told all of them of Levi's illness, but thunder roared overhead once more; their horses were unsettled by it as each of them were pawing the earth anxiously with tails swishing in displeasure. As he clung to his reins, Eren felt a wet drop fall from the sky. Soon, another came; three, four, five...it was like the sky had decided to pour itself unto them.

The chill of the air didn't help the rain, for it felt frozen upon his exposed skin. He quickly reached to pull his hood over and saw the others doing the same for protection. Obviously, they were drained from herding horses for an entire day; a warm room an a comfy bed were probably on their minds, he was sure Levi was wishing for the same thing as well.

A deluge assaulted them all but their coats and furs kept them dry; it was the ache in the muscles that made it all unpleasant.

Levi pulled Noir's head to the side as he relayed,"I'll be at the front, just like the usual formation."

They easily got into their places and brought their horses into a gallop; they tore through the village, not stopping for any reason. As the cold winds and water came from their sides, their horses trudged on even as the ground became moist. The urgency to return home drove their reckless abandon as they broke into a field. Eren stood in his saddle, leaning closely to Blanche's crest.

He glanced to the left to see Petra doing the same, her lithe form was but a shadow until lightening flashed to reveal color. To his right was Auruo. From where he stood, and for a brief moment, he noticed that the man had gauze warped around his left hand; he guessed it to be rope burn as gloves weren't often used between them all.

As he began to stare at Auruo, the sky lit itself once more.

He could have grown tired or he could have began to see things. But for just a few seconds he thought he saw a group of horses running in the distance among the trees that they rode parallel to.

"Keep your head forward, you're going off balance!" Gunther shouted to him.

Eren tore his eyes away and focused to the front where Levi was.

Noir's great hindquarters were in constant motion, keeping his place well ahead of everyone. His snorts and heavy breathing resounded among the winds and were echoed back by their own horses as though their were cheering for the end of their day's work. It was then that Levi picked up speed, prompting them all to catch up with him.

It went on for half an hour until they reached the designated spot where Ness and Cis were seen that morning, awaiting horses for them to deliver the rest of the way back to their headquarters; both men were gone as their task to rally the horses back was over. The rendezvous was a large oak tree in the middle of the field, it stood off the side of the trail and was separated from the forest that took them to their home.

From there, Levi held up a hand for them to stop; his voice couldn't be heard amongst the cries of the weather. Abruptly, their horses skidded the ground, each of them confused as much as their riders were. They were shielded from the rain by the great branches and leaves of the tree.

Eren looked about. Words weren't passed between them but each were looking straight at Levi; the man's hand was still up.

"Corporal?" Eren timidly asked.

As if he were responding, the man suddenly slumped off the side of Noir and fell to the moist soil below his horse. Eren immediately dismounted, uncaring for the water that sloshed underfoot as he rushed over to him, a small stream of water accumulated from the upper side of the smooth slope; he got to his knees and gathered Levi's form in his arms. As the rain poured from around the oak, the others got off of their horses as well to huddle around.

Just as they were about to close in, a hand went to his shirt to pull him close, causing him to draw his ear to Levi's mouth.

"Corporal!"

"Eren, what's wrong with him!?"

"Is he injured!?"

"Speak, kid!"

Amongst the pounding winds and shouts, Eren could hear Levi rasp,"Take me…to a doctor...don't let them see…"

"See what, sir?" Eren uttered.

Levi clutched Eren's hand and brought it to his neck, but then his grip faltered and became loose, easily slipping away from his wrist.

_'His neck?'_

Another hand went to his shoulder, he turned to look up to see Petra. He avoided the neck, just as Levi requested, and went for his chest. His hands fumbled through the furs and cloth until he found Levi's skin; upon touching it, he found it to be burning with sweat and heat. The rise and fall of his chest were deep and, on the occasion, there would be a shudder of breath. Instantly, he said,"He's burning up a fever!"

"Fever? And he decides to come anyway?!" Auruo exclaimed, his hands busy with holding their horses. "Why didn't you get a doctor?!"

"He wouldn't let me!"

Blanche and Noir were left to themselves but they weren't willing to wander off, given the weather. Auruo fused about until he bit his tongue, prompting Gunther to take a hold of two of the animals so that he would have a free hand to dab his mouth. The wind began to die, only leaving the _pitter-patter_ of the pouring rain muffle their voices much less than before.

Petra knelt beside him and pulled his hood off to reveal his face drenched with his hair clinging to his skin by either sweat or water. He had a red face with eyes closed though his brows were furrowing in pain and discomfort; he was unconscious, his limbs were dead weight to Eren as he held him closely. She pulled his hood over once more to cover him and got up. She went to Blanche and brought her by, saying,"We should take him to the village…can he ride with you, Eren?"

"Yeah, Blanche should be able to carry two."

Eren brought one leg forth, then bought himself up, hauling Levi's body and hefting him into Blanche's saddle, though Erd came and did the rest of the work. Once he was properly seated, Erd gave Eren a boost to sit behind Levi. The smaller man's head lolled against his shoulder, Eren took Blanche's reins as he used his forearms to balance Levi properly. The mare snorted at the added weight but she complied to his hand as he clucked his tongue for her to move forward.

As they gathered their horses, Noir's rein was taken by Petra so that he would be lead with the group. Eren gave a quick nudge of his nose against his shoulder to rid himself of an itch, then he proceeded to follow them. Thunder clashed and the plains lit up once more, Eren had just enough light to see two horses ahead of them, running for their tree. Erd had taken the head of the group, he held his hand up for them to halt their advance as the pair of riders came rushing at them.

"Hm? Dita?" Gunther let out, trying to squint through the haze of the rain. "They left earlier..."

Their horses pawed the earth again. Eren kept a hold on Levi's body, though incoherent murmurs resounded from him every few seconds.

Soon, the riders came within earshot but their forms were shielded by bunches of black cloth. Their identities were hidden, it caused Erd to draw his rifle as a precaution. Regardless of whether or not they armed themselves, they were too late to respond. From their distance, the pair of riders fired their own guns; shots rang throughout the plains as sparks of fire came from their flintlock.

The first of them to fall was Erd himself, he slid off the side of his saddle and fell to the ground harshly; his horse, scared witless, fled. Blanche nearly reared at this as Petra screamed out,"Run, Eren!"

Her hands drew out a rifle yet the second round was aimed at her horse itself. The creature let out a pained cry before its legs gave way and fell, bringing Petra down with it and forcing her under its weight; her rifle somehow went off. Noir was set free from Petra's hold and, at the crackle of gunfire, rushed towards Blanche, to where Levi was.

"Petra!" Came Auruo, he turned his horse around with Gunther as they threw hurried glances at Eren. "Go on to the village, we'll take care of this!"

"Just go!" Gunther shouted when he saw the boy slightly hesitate.

Eren could have stayed and fight, but he chose to run for the sake of Levi; he was in no place to question their orders. For all he knew, Erd and Petra were dead, but the chaos that exploded from their rifles left him in a thick haze of confusion. Reaching out, he took Noir's rein, tied it to the saddle horn, and clucked his tongue. He didn't know how he would manage to take both horses and a sick man together but he pushed out the struggle when Blanche took to cantering.

He looked over his shoulder to see the two assailants and the last two men locked in a fight, yet he told himself to look forward.

The thickness of water limited his vision and the furs of his hood sticking to his face weren't helping him.

He may have gone half a mile or to before another unfortunate moment came by.

To his left, out of nowhere, came a gray horse, a palomino, then a bay one. Finally, a recognized them as part of the string of horses from that morning; the group he had picked Blanche out of.

_'Where are Ness and Cis? Didn't Petra and the others hand the horses to them? Why're they loose?'_

The three of the beasts collided with Noir and Blanche, throwing them off balance and forcing them to the ground. Eren lost lost his hold on both horses and Levi as he was violently thrown from his seat. He went into the air for a second or two before landing in the mud to be covered by the filth. Lightning struck once more and he saw Levi not so far from him, his body spread like an eagle facing up on the ground.

The fall itself didn't hurt as the moist earth was soft to his bones, the cold water, however, gnawed at his skin as his front was suddenly soaked. He shivered violently and threw his eyes in many directions.

Noir and Blanche were nowhere in the limited sight. He rubbed his eyes, collected himself, and got to his hands and knees.

_"I want to protect you."_

Spitting out the grass and mud from his teeth, he crawled to Levi, hands shaking as he gathered him in his arms. The cloak and furs he wore were open, Eren took the effort to cover him up once more despite knowing that he was as wet as he was himself. He hauled him closer, trying to give him warmth all the while shielding him from the rain as best as he could.

The shouts and gunshots were either too distant or have faded, all he heard were the distant beats of hooves. Fears were lifted into his face when more horses from the string came running at him out of where the palomino, gray, and bay appeared. His arms wrapped arms tighter around Levi's torso, utterly petrified to move as the herd dashed by and by.

Their horses were gone and the thought of the assailants coming for them soon began to bring him to panic. What can he do?

_'I'm not holding up to what I said...'_

Somewhere, from some horse, a hoof clonked into his head, knocking the lights out of him completely. He fell atop of Levi, his body draping over him to cover him from the rain that poured around them. Thunder boomed above them while meshing together with the sound of horses. Suddenly, it all became quiet when he slipped into utter darkness.

_'...all this wasn't Erotic Eren, this wasn't in my control...sir, please forgive me. I tried to get help for you. Why wouldn't you let me take care of you earlier?'_


	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** Next chapter will be the last for Eren's POV. Also, thinking of ending this story below, at, or above thirty chapters.

Suuuuper sorry for the late update, QAQ

ANYWAY, OMFG, 200+ REVIEWS...OH...MY...GOD...T-THANK YOU GUYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS TO GO THAT FAR, NOPE, NOT AT ALL! OH GOD!

I promise, really, really promise, there will be romance coming in soon, real soon.

And no, the squad is not dead but I was replicating what happened in the anime.

* * *

Soft murmurs filled his ears.

When he awoke, he found himself in the comforting warmth of a bed by the roaring fire. His soaked clothes were gone, each article replaced with the soft cloth of a white, sleeved shirt and black, loose slacks. His hands reached over to the side to prop himself up as he drew his attention to the quiet voices from elsewhere in the room. He let out a quiet groan, thus causing the speakers to cease their words.

"He's up," came from a young girl.

As he brought himself to sit up, he drew his focus to two people. The young girl that sat by the fire was Christa, beside her, near a vacant bed parallel to his, was Ymir. The strident sound of a chair scraping against the floor came from the brunette as she stood up with haste. She advanced upon him; one hand went to his shoulder, the other went to the bed frame to support her body.

**"Are you Eren?"**

"...what?"

He understood, but how?

**"You understand my words, are you Eren?"**

**"Just answer her!"** Christa beckoned him.

_'Why do they sound alarmed?'_

Their words, though strange and foreign, were seemingly familiar. Every so often, there would be a spotty bit of dialogue but his mind would recall a distant memory to comprehend them. As Ymir's face was close to his, he couldn't help nod and say hesitantly,"Yes,** I'm Eren**. I do...**understand you**."

"You're getting a firm hold of **_it_ **piece by piece then, what comfort," Ymir sighed, relieved. Without apologizing for her advancement, she released him and backed away to her chair. She pulled it by and seated herself beside him. "When we found you off the slope, I debated on taking you with us. I didn't want to risk your Titan coming out of sleep to harm us, it was dangerous but you can thank Christa." She made a subtle gesture with her eyes as they flickered over to the girl. "You owe me."

Eren rubbed his head, then his thoughts snapped back to the wet and cold storm he had faced before awakening. Disregarding her statement, he remembered the wind and the rain, the thunder and water, the horses running, and, worst of all, Levi.

_'Levi!'_

"Where's Corporal?" He blurted.

"Recovering from the doctor," Christa said, getting up and going to a table nearby her. Upon it was a pitcher and several glass cups, he saw her bandaged hands take to pouring water in one. "We brought him in because had a horrible fever. And...the cause of it was a wound on his neck, the doctor said that it was infected so he took to taking care of him as soon as possible."

She approached Eren and gave him water. He thanked her but he felt a sense of dread fall over him. He knew of the wound itself but never thought of it to become infected. If Levi demanded that it were not be known amongst his squad, then Eren would have been the only one to be aware of it and, most likely, the man hadn't gone to the infirmary to have it properly treated.

"The moment the doctor saw the Corporal, he let him be treated free of charge, so that's good on my part," Ymir told him,"I didn't bring money anyway."

"Wait, if you didn't have coin to spend, why did you leave headquarters?" Eren asked.

"My own agenda," she simply told him.

"Does it have to do with the Russian?"

Ymir's eyes flickered over his person. She pursed her lips as Christa stepped away to sit on the bed.

Eren pressed on,"Why do you know it?"

"I learned it the same way you did," she said as though it were simple,"_their_ memories give us certain powers."

"Their?" His head suddenly throbbed painfully. Hand going to his temple, his mind flashed an old scene that haunted him from time to time. He remembered his father whisking him away to the woods and then pulling him out of the carriage; he remembered the syringe piercing into his skin as he screamed. The tears of his father were quite real, as were the words that came about.

_'Their memories will help_ you..." Words were fading in and out. _"...but you'll suffer a loss of a few of your own!'_

He groaned for a long while in agony.

Soon enough, Ymir got to her feet. "Look, I'm only here to save my hide. If you fell into the wrong hands out there, _who knows_ what would happen to me." She reached her hand to Christa. "We're going."

As he was bombarded by thoughts of his father, he heard them shuffling out of the room. He could have spoken to them but the pain intensified and he let out a lower groan, he decided against pursuing them. He would catch them when he and Levi returned home. He heard the door open as he closed his eyes, then Christa's voice came,"Your horses are gone, I tried looking this morning but no luck, I'm sorry."

"Ugh...Christa, Ymir," Eren muttered, but the door slammed shut,"wait..."

-...-

Mikasa crouched low.

An hour had passed since day break, the sky cleared itself.

"We should have brought Sasha," Mikasa murmured as her fingers brushed against the moist earth,"she'd be able to track where the assailants went."

They spent the evening running through the woods, ignoring the storm and going on. Armin was hesitant to follow the entire time but, somewhere in his mind, he had to. Both had entered a heated discussion the afternoon before rushing out; in the end they resolved to find Reiner and Bertolt.

Mikasa had the reasoning of seeing them as a threat to Eren. Naturally, she would seek them out but, oddly enough, Armin felt that there was more to her than just that task alone. He was thankful he riled her up to seek them out, he had to play a game of words to convince her to leave; he was only reticent to come with because of the storm.

How they lived through it was a miracle. It was hell that night and they were forced to take a break until it abated. Only at the first rays of the sun did they travel on.

Armin knew that the runaways had something to do about the fire and the murder of the experimental Titans; they were, by his intuition, involved in some way with that other Eren.

At the moment, it made him question if they were responsible for what they encountered in the field.

Horses. A dozen horses wandering about, some had their saddles and bridles, others had lost the equipment. They would have passed by and ignored them, but an alarming scene came when they arrived at the great oak tree; a gray lump was laying on its side. Much to Armin's distaste, it was a dead horse, a gray one whose barrel was smeared with a red, crimson liquid.

Mikasa had dismounted to examine the horse; its saddle was still on.

Armin looked over at its head where a bullet was lodged into its skull.

"She's been shot," Armin said, pointing over at it. "I've seen this horse at the stables, check the saddle, it should have a name printed somewhere."

Mikasa's hands went to the muddied saddle and lifted the blankets and ropes that were tied about. Eventually, she found the small name plate that most saddles of the Scouting Legion had nailed to their cantles. Her fingers brushed the dirt and blood away; he expression contorted in dread and she looked up at Armin while saying,"I was right. If they couldn't find Bertolt and Reiner, they couldn't protect Eren. This is Petra Ral's horse."

Armin's stomach quenched at the sound of it. He looked all around the area by the horse's carcass.

There were shell casings and a few smears to the earth as though a struggle occurred the night before.

"Ness and Cis didn't come back...you think they were involved or did they return while we were gone?" Mikasa said aloud while getting up.

"I...don't know, but someone needs to know about this; it'll open up searches for those guys," Arrmin uttered. "The question is that if they are alive at all." His eyes wandered up to the field where he saw two horses coming out of the woods, startling the nearby horses that were wandering about. "Mikasa!"

She stood up and looked in his direction.

The incoming riders drew closer within a matter of seconds, only when they approached did they stop before them.

"Ymir? Christa?" Armin asked when they lowered the hoods of their cloaks. They didn't seem to have a reaction to seeing the dead horse or the others that meandered nearby. "What're you doing out here?"

"We went for drinks back there," Ymir answered, gesturing with her chin and throwing a brief glance over her shoulder. She leaned against the horn of her saddle with her forearm as her horse snorted. "Quite the mess we found here last night. We passed it on our way, surprising to find you two here though. Hn..." She pointed with her thumb back towards the village. "...you guys are Eren's friends, yeah? We found Eren and the Corporal last night, they took a spill over off the side there."

Christa voiced in,"We brought them in to get treated by a Doctor, he goes by the name of Rochester-"

At the sound of this, Mikasa took the reins from Armin so that she could mount her horse. She declared,"I'll go check on Eren, Armin, you go on and tell Nanaba about this; she'll most likely be the one handling things for the moment."

He gave her a nod, not bothering to stop her. Within seconds, she was speeding off; he took to getting on his own horse and looking at them both.

"You look sober," he commented, but Ymir and Christa didn't reply or even give so much as a glance; they walked their horses on passed him.

He began to have doubts about them as well. It wouldn't be by chance that the two of them would leave headquarters to drink, let alone go in the midst of a storm. They wouldn't be returning home so early in the morning as well if they took a night off to drink. He trotted his horse by Ymir's and let out,"You know something about this, don't you?"

"Excuse me?" Ymir asked, voice cross.

He rarely spoke to her, not for the three years he had known of her had he held a full conversation with her.

"You knew something was going to happen so both of you left to see it," Armin concluded.

"...perhaps," she said with a shrug, voice sounding as though she agreed,"or this all happened by chance. I don't_ know_, it's not like I planned this myself."

-...-

A long while passed until a sturdy knock came from the door, Eren held his head as he groaned,"Come in."

He hoped that they had returned, but it was stupid thought.

Instead, the doctor (a plump, old man with gray hair that wore a bloodstained smock that had various liquids smearing the front) came in, his hands grasped at the threshold as he huffed,"Are you Eren?"

He slowly nodded as the radiating pain pulsated throughout his mind with every beat of his heart. To his left was the glass cup Christa had given him; he forgot he placed it there. The doctor approached him with an open, gloved palm that carried a small flask. Eren took the water and was offered the medication; without questioning, and needing relief, he consumed the concoction and washed it down with water.

The bitter taste overtook him, his lips curled in disgust as the doctor took back the flask.

"Not the best taste, but it's medicine," he said sympathetically, he pointed a finger at Eren's head,"you had a bad bump to the head when you got here, figured you'd have a migraine and won't wake for a dew days...astonishing to see you up. I heard that you even spoke to those young ladies."

Eren bit down a groan as he gritted his teeth. A thought of a hoof coming to his head caused him to shudder, he squeezed his eyes shut as the throbbing became less severe, it became bearable as he eventually let out,"Is the Corporal alright?"

"He's asleep right now," the doctor said with a slight smile. "I've heard stories of your ability to heal at unimaginable rates, can you walk? If you feel well enough, you can see him for yourself."

He took several breaths. The medicine was taking affect rather quickly; the pressure ebbed away and he decided to move his limbs. He sat at the edge of the bed, his mind adjusting itself to the present moment. Eren let out a sigh and he was helped up to his feet. The doctor let him go when Eren gently brushed away his hand, telling him,"Yeah, I want to see him."

The doctor made a gesture while walking to the door.

"I heard that the Scouting Legion had decided to set up their base an hour away...I was wondering when young Levi would be dropping by town, but I wasn't expecting him to be brought to my doorstep like this," the doctor rambled, his weight shifting to the right with every step; he had a noticeable limp in his right leg. As a result, his hand would lightly press against the wall but would only apply pressure when needed.

"You...know him, Doctor?"

"Ah, years ago, a decade perhaps," he replied, though a friendly chuckle came from him, then a longing sigh came about,"in sickness or in health, those eyes he has are unmistakeable. I know them anywhere."

They traveled through the hallway, going further and further and turning corners. Eventually, they headed down a flight of stairs.

"Boy used to be a friend of my own child. When they stayed over the festive season, the two were inseparable, hm...all that I've known are long gone but it comforts me to see a familiar face," the doctor mused as they finally got to the first floor.

The doctor's home was large and well fit to be called a hospital of sorts. Eren didn't remember seeing much of the village's structures simply became he hadn't traveled far within it. They went through a modest lobby where a family was waiting to be treated, the doctor smiled and waved, bid them to wait a bit longer, and led Eren into a hallway adjacent to the stairs.

Ymir and Christa were long gone.

Eren pushed away the thought of them and continued on, following the doctor's footsteps.

Lining the halls were several paintings encased in wooden, ornate frames. Most of the paintings were of the Scouting Legion's insignia and the occasional portraits of horses; opposite of them were the windows that revealed a brought day with clouds hovering over the roofs of buildings across the street. As they went on, his head began to clear and the pain had been numbed almost completely.

They eventually stopped in front of a door that was partially open, the doctor's great hand gently nudged the door aside and allowed Eren to enter.

Within the room was a single bed with a lone occupant that slept peacefully. To the right were his clothes that hung by a long line that stretched by a roaring fire. Eren brought his attention back to the bed, to Levi. A chair was drawn near his bedside and the doctor gave him a slight nudge.

"Go on, see to him. Patients do better when they have a companion nearby," the doctor said, Eren nodded and did as he suggested; he pulled the chair close to the bedside and sat upon it.

Levi steadily breathed but every once in a while he would wheeze and struggle to breathe before finding his way once again to become quiet. He trembled once or twice, though there was nothing alarming to make the doctor rush to his side. Eren watched over him as the doctor went off to tend to the fire.

"He was bitten at the neck," the doctor began as he three fresh timber into the flames,"a deep one at that. There's a series of skin coming off, I take that he didn't treat it properly; by the bandages he used in a makeshift manner, I could smell the alcohol that was used to sterilize it. There's only so much that a vine could do for wounds, he should have sewn them up first to at least let it close.

"The infection induced a fever...the soonest he could leave is when he breaks it. He's not as weak as he was before, he ought to punch through it much more quickly now."

The fire was fed properly, it gave more warmth that radiated throughout the room faster. The old doctor stood up and brushed away at his smock; it was stained with a bit of soot from handling the wood. He made his way for the door, telling him,"I tasked the girls that brought you in, they will be sending a message back to whoever your superiors are to inform them of Levi's condition."

Eren suddenly got up. "Wait, the Commander left for the Stohess a few days ago, he won't be returning for another few. The Corporal here is the one in charge."

"Oh? Well, at least someone has to know of this," the doctor said, looking down while scratching his chin. "Stay here for a bit, I have a family that's been waiting for an hour, poor child's a weak one and needs routine checks-" He let out a thoughtful grunt. "-hnm, call if anything happens."

He left the door ajar.

Eren was trained on it for a moment until a low groan came from the man sleeping by him. He brought his attention to him to see his brows furrow in what looked like, for the first time he had seen them, in fear and, quite horridly, pain.

"Must be a nightmare," he murmured, reaching over to the bedside table and taking a damp cloth from the washbowl; he wrung out the last drops. He decided to clean off the sweat from Levi's face.

-...-

_"Mother!" He shouted, hands violently pounding at the wooden boards of the window. He desperately clawed at the latches but, from the inside, they were locked. At his feet were the provisions he managed to sneak out of the market that very morning. They were strewn about from the cloth sack he kept around his shoulders; somehow, he set them loose._

_But he could care less._

_From inside their small home, a pitiful abode tucked away within the crevices of the underground town below the capital, he could hear shouting and screaming. Resolute in his stance against them, he grabbed a metal pipe that protruded from a broken, metal fence and went to his doorstep. He tried forcing it open earlier with his hands but it was no use, a wasted effort it was._

_"Mother!" He screeched vehemently._

_As though it were on time, the door swung open._

_That damn, horned horse over the man's heart was the first thing he saw._

_The hatred of being ruled by them, the pain his mother dealt with in every service of their dreary lives, and the horrid circumstance of his place in the world; he was no longer willing to bow to their every whim, no, not anymore._

_It was now that he chose to fight, now that he heard the screams of his mother. And so he struck, bringing the pipe overhead to fight him. In turn, he shrieked,"You **bastards**!"_

_But he was thin, frail, sickly as well. Levi was a young man in his early twenties; he was weak and at the tallest he could be. Barely a bread could satiate a normal person for hours, for him and his mother, such a loaf would make a feast for a few days. His mother would take most of the food as she needed her strength, she needed it for her customers; she took it out of good intention for the money. Always the money. His cost was his own health.  
_

_The pipe was easily seized and he was disarmed within a moment of letting his pipe come into sight._

_"It's the kid," the soldier announced to his comrades within their shanty of a home._

_In the reality, it would have been considered a hole in the hall covered by a door with a few windows here and there._

_ Levi found himself upon the ground, his rags for clothes tearing more from getting snagged among some crates. Levi scrambled to his feet and tried to rush for the inside, but the man prevented him by taking him by the scruff of his neck and grasping at it painfully._

_He remembered hearing a body painfully hit against something and, subsequently, his mother's screaming came to an abrupt end._

_The man that grasped his shoulder turned his head and shouted,"Why's she quiet!?"_

_It was silent as Levi's eyes grew wide. They had furniture cluttered here and there, surely she hadn't-_

_"Bitch snapped her neck against the table," came an annoyed voice._

_"Told you not to grab her that way."_

_"Now what do we do?"_

_"Tch...her kid's there, right? We could use him again-"_

_**"MOTHER!"** Levi keened once more, distraught at no longer hearing her voice and utterly disgusted at hearing theirs. He was done. _

_Through the market, he stole a small firearm (a flintlock with six chambers) from an unsuspecting fellow; he had it in his coat pocket, he didn't think he would be using it so soon. While the soldier was distracted, just for a mere moment, Levi reached for it and aimed up at his throat, his fingers undoing the safety and holding the grip taut._

_"Eh-"_

_He pulled the trigger._

_ He had enough._

* * *

**A/N:** ...I'm just going to splash the next chapter with feels so...um, just hang tight for it!


	19. Chapter 19

`I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** This will be the last chapter, for now, in Eren's POV.

Just some...y'know, feels coming your way.

* * *

_'When Eren didn't answer his question appropriately, Levi offered himself,"Mine are of everyone, past and present. Those who died, those who I fear will die..."' *  
_

Eren cleaned off the last of the sweat from his skin.

The damp cloth was rinsed in the wash bowl and then left to dry by the fire. He sat himself at Levi's bedside, watching over him in silence. The man murmured incoherent words once in a while, a few groans came out as well. Clearly he was suffering from the pain, both from his illness and, as Eren could guess, from his dreams.

Mankind's strongest?

"You can't be right now," Eren uttered with a frown. He leaned back in his chair and watched him.

Levi's hands were grasping at the sheets, shaking from such intense that he looked ready to pull them off and tear them apart. Yet he didn't do that. He laid there, rigid, muscles trembling in his sleep as though they were reacting to his thoughts.

-...-

- Year 835 - Fifty Kilometers Outside Wall Maria-

_"Cadet Levi, you're coming with me, we're backing up Major Erwin," Hanji ordered. She wasn't his direct superior but he obeyed her just as he would for any other Officer. He nodded and sped by her, easily catching up with Erwin when he had charged into the distance, sword drawn._

_Two others had come._

'...no, not again.'

_Levi pressed on and, within minutes, were within sight of the enemy yet no sign of the patrols. The Titans had disfigured limbs but they were both running, their giant feet shaking the world all around him. He swung his legs back when Erwin gave the order to kill; he stood up upon his horse's hip and kicked off. His cables were released and he was airborne within a matter of moments._

_The fight was swift, though it cost them the lives of the two others who provided back up. When the last Titan was felled by Hanji's blade, Erwin was found in the midst of the steam, taking the patches of the two soldiers that attempted to distract the three Titans. Levi landed by his side, speaking for the first time,"The patrols aren't nearby. Shouldn't they have taken care of this?"_

_"They had blood in their mouths," Erwin solemnly informed him when he stood up,"hadn't you noticed or were you blind by worry for Emil?"_

_Levi clenched his fist. He was waiting for him, he was worried, and he didn't see that detail._

_"Horses aren't around either," Hanji's voice came out as she emerged from the midst of the steam. At both sides were their steeds, Levi was given his reins. "Let's go back-"_

_"Can I request something, Erwin?" Levi asked as he mounted his horse. Erwin gave a curt nod. "May I look for them?"_

'...please, don't show me this. No more. No more...'

_Hanji gave an uneasy sound from the base of her throat. Erwin looked hesitant to say anything against it, yet he did. "No-"_

_But Levi had taken off._

_"Levi!" Erwin shouted as a warning._

_Though he had left too soon. He followed the tracks of the Titans, he had a feeling that he should follow. He raced his horse over the plains, going as fast as he could, mind clouded by a fear that he tried to suppress during the mission. And...as he sped over a hill, his fears were confirmed._

_At the bottom, scattered along the slope, were men and women, dead and broken into pieces with horses scouring the ground either too injured to get up or too frightened to stay. His own horse skidded to a stop, his eyes grew wide as he surveyed the surrounding area. They were the patrolmen sent out. Breathless, he gasped out,"No..."_

'Anything but this...please, please, **please**.'

_He heard Erwin and Hanji arrive at his side, both of them stunned for a moment at seeing the bloody slope though it was the older one who collected himself the fastest. "Levi, there's nothing you can do."_

_"Ugh," Hanji let out painfully,"I can see Bianca from here- hey! You can't go down there!"_

_Ignoring them once more, he dismounted and rushed down the slope, frantic. His legs carried him as carefully as they could, he slid down the rest upon his heels and met up with the first soldier he saw; he was dead and unrecognizable. He went off to search elsewhere until he found someone laying face down upon the ground, hood drawn overhead; there was groaning coming from him._

_The person was missing his entire abdominal region, his entrails lined the ground as blood poured profusely from him; red stained the grass and pooled the dirt around him. It was like a Titan had bit his stomach away but he managed to save the rest of himself. Drawn to him, Levi fell to his knees and, with shaking hands, turned the body over. He wore a cravat that was stained in blood, it was plastered against his face. Hesitantly, he pulled it down.  
_

_Much to his utter horror, it was, indeed, Emil. His breath was caught in his throat as he cradled the man in his arms._

_He was struggling for air. His usually neat, blond hair was disheveled and covered in dirt, it was set loose from its tie and poured over Levi's hand; his kind eyes were glassy with in pain; his mouth dribbled crimson bubbles that leaked down his chin. Those blue rises were darting aimlessly until they found Levi. With great hesitation, he croaked in confusion,"Levi...?" before his head lulled to the side and his arms grew limp._

_"No," Levi murmured, shaking his head. He had held back the tears for as long as he could, hysterics were what killed you; he learned it so fast in one day. He shuddered as he tried to gather Emil in his arms, his hands reached below the torso to take what he could. He wanted to bring him back but a pair of arms grasped at his waist, pulling him away and causing Emil to tumble out of his reach._

_The man landed upon the grass, front facing up, and he grew distant. Levi tried to fight against the captor, he struggled as his feet rose in the air and his arms flailed._

_"I need to bring him!" He shouted in a desperate protest that was filled with broken sobs. "Please!"_

_His hands reached for Emil, his throat burned as he fought harder; he felt powerless, just as he was when he couldn't save his poor mother. He was back to being that kid again, the kid who was too weak to help his mother; it was happening again. He shouted, he thrust his head back, he wanted to be loose to chase after him._

_"It's just how it is, I'm sorry, Levi!" Erwin bellowed to him, trying to snap him to attention. When he had roused too far, he could hear Erwin booming,"STAND DOWN, LEVI, I COMMAND YOU!"_

'Emil, forgive me...I wasn't there for you.'

-...-

"Eren, a girl has come, she's asking for you," the doctor told him after a long while. Eren was leaning against Levi's bedside, nearly dozing off himself; he immediately perked up when a set of footsteps came down the hallway. "Friend of yours?"

Eren's brow perked up until Mikasa, clothed within the furs of the winter coat, came into view. She peeled them off as he stood up, nodding and saying,"She's a friend, yeah."

The doctor smiled. "More friends for Levi then, very good. The more the merrier, yes? Faster the healing it'll be." His words faded as he disappeared from sight, the ramblings were more to himself until they began hums of a jolly tune. In his place, Mikasa entered the room and hung her furs by the fireside. The baritone voice sang,"They are the prey and we are the hunters~..."

She looked relieved at seeing Eren.

The last time he spoke to her, she broke down into tears and left. Obviously, she was upset before but now, it seemed that she had forgiven him, somewhat. When she spoke, however, she said the words that didn't suit his hopes. "Where is Levi's squad?"

Eren's eyes grew wide. In truth, he was hoping she would know. How else would she have found him? Unless...Ymir and Christa delivered their message promptly, he prayed that it was Petra or Auruo or even Erd that escaped and alerted the others. The latter couldn't be possible; headquarters wouldn't send Mikasa alone, they would have sent an entire squad to pick him up.

"Dead...alive? Who knows, I only got a hold of the Corporal," Eren answered,"why?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver plate. She tossed it to Eren, he scrutinized it to find Petra's name engraved within it in black letters. "I found her horse off the side of the road, dead. Major Petra wasn't there, neither were the rest of them."

The plate slipped out of his hand from shock. "None of them made it out alive?"

Mikasa shook her head. "What happened?"

"Uh...well, we were heading home since they delivered the last horses, a storm happened and we were ambushed. They -Auruo, Gunther, and especially Petra- told me to leave and bring Corporal since he had a horrible fever. I don't know...I had him and our horses, then some other horses came by and threw us off. I took a hit to the head and found myself here...by chance, it was Ymir and Christa-"

"They were the ones who told us where you were," she explained as his eyes darted left and right, trying to comprehend that the team hadn't returned nor had they been seen. "I doubt they would have killed the team, let alone be responsible...Armin and I left headquarters before them yesterday."

"You didn't see the team at all?"

"No, we were wandering the forests looking for Reiner and Bertolt."

"Were you ordered to?"

"It was our own agenda," she flatly said,"if you're here alone and Levi is incapacitated-" She peeked over to the side to steal a glance at Levi. "-you have no protection."

Eren grimaced and looked over her person. "Do you have a weapon?"

"A rifle from storage, Nanaba wouldn't let us have Gears."

"Were Christa and Ymir with guns?"

"No."

"Then they weren't responsible for anything," Eren concluded. "What about Ness and Cis?"

Mikasa had taken to removing her jacket and hanging it by the fire. She took a chair that was in a corner and dragged it nearby. By her movements and words, she was quiet and was more focused on Eren rather than Levi; he was grateful she didn't bring up the subject of him at all, for the most part. When she seated herself, she motioned for Eren to sit in front of her.

It had been a while since he properly took the time to observe her. She was...Mikasa. Mikasa was Mikasa. He couldn't tell any other change from her though if there were, he dreaded if it were for the worse; he didn't know what sort of things Erotic Eren had done before or now.

But...he felt that was growing disconnected with her.

"They didn't return. You said you were ambushed...how were you ambushed?"

"Two riders came in wearing the winter cloaks for Scouts, each of them bore rifles and...one of the horses looked like Shallot."

He stooped low to pick up Petra's name plate. The pads of his thumbs traced the letters.

"Ness's horse?"

"I think so, yeah, she did..."

He was uncertain of it, but the bay horse was a strange detail he remembered. Why now-?

"You don't think it was Bertolt and Reiner...do you?" Eren questioned.

"Those who have nothing to confess don't leave. If it truly were Shallot you saw..." She trailed off.

He didn't want to think of his comrades as traitors; he grew quiet. When she couldn't elicit a response, she became silent as well.

-...-

- Year 838 - Thirty-seven Kilometers Outside of Wall Maria -

_"Where is Corporal Gisbert!?" Hanji yelled to him when he drew his horse close._

_They were retreating from another disastrous mission within a forest. Reinforcements were clamoring overhead, providing an overhead view for the remaining squads._

_"He's not in the front."_

_"Nor the back?"_

_"No!"_

'No, no, no, no...'

_Levi stood in his saddle, keeping in tempo with Hanji as she shouted for the names of her squad members. Out of the seven she had, only five replied; the last two were missing or dead._

_He, himself, barely made it out of the forest alive. His heart was thundering in his chest, his hands shook; he decided to call out the names of his own men. Hanji glanced over her shoulder to see if his men would return the call but, much to his own horror, none did. When he shouted for the Corporal himself, there was no call. She cursed and rode ahead of him to inform the twelfth Commander of the missing Corporal._

_Levi reached under his cravat._

'Is it with me right now?'

_Around his neck was the familiar weight of the silver whistle. He brought the piece to his lips and blew, causing a sharp sound to pierce the air. His index closed one of the holes lining the neck, causing a second pitch to be higher than the first. He repeated the long call as he tore himself from the main group for a moment._

_Perhaps on the fourth call he saw, among the trees, the black stallion weaving closer by the stride. Levi's heart thundered in his chest as he trained his gaze upon it; the low trees covered the top of the animal but he could tell it was the one he summoned._

_He blew once more, prompting Noir to shift into plain sight._

_He expected to see his rider appear before him, strong and alive as he always was, but it wasn't the case._

_Noir galloped on his own accord, his saddle void of its rider and, instead, covered in blood. Light broke through the trees as the forest began to thin itself out. There was more of the vile liquid shinning upon Noir's satin coat. What happened? How's the horse alive? What did the horse see?_

'Everything, maybe...'

_Wordlessly, Levi tucked the whistle back under his cravat and reached over for Noir's reins to take a hold of him._

_He couldn't scream out or protest like he did at the loss he had before, but he felt something die within him as he took Noir under his watch. He tried to push away the hurt, just for the most part as best he could. The great stallion stayed by his side for the rest of the journey home and, when they returned to Shiganshina the following evening, the pair were inseparable._

'Oh...I'm remembering more it it...'

_Commander Abbott, the twelfth Commander of the Scouting Legion, found the duo in mourning at the stables of the inn where they had taken their lodgings._

_Levi kept to himself, easily turning down the offers for drinks. He remembered brushing off Noir's back for the fifth time when Abbott came to him. They stood in the darkness, only by the pale light of the moon did the man see their feet. "Major Levi?" He questioned, peering into the stall, though it was no use to see anything. "Are you here?"  
_

_"I'm here, sir," Levi said, voice slightly trembling, it was raw from the lack of water._

_"You've been promoted to Lance Corporal...congratulations."_

_Levi finally revealed himself; he stopped short of Noir's flank. "Me? Why not Erwin?"_

_"He's being groomed for Commander...if you step down, I'll have Major Hanji take it," Abbott said, he decided to lean against the wall. He struck a match and lit the smoking pipe he always carried. "I grow old, I feel my time running short; I don't wish to the Scouting Legion to end up as it were after Zoe, leaderless and unknowing who to pick-"_

_"The man was compromised by emotions for his wife."_

_"He's only human but it's taboo to live this long as Commander...not that I'm saying I forfeit my role for humanity, I will fight to death. I'm just thinking for the future...and you should as well; with Gisbert gone, you're the strongest now. You were under his wing for some time, you rose through the ranks much quicker than Hanji; he told me great things about you-"_

_Levi took a step closer. "So I'm the next champion for humanity?"_

_"If you're not a reluctant hero, sure. Well, do you accept the new position?"_

_"No, Hanji is more suited for it...what's better than having a daughter of the former Commander be your Corporal? She has the blood for it, the skill as well, she's smart, swift, and a bit lunatic but she gets things done."_

_Abbott let out a chuckle. "Just like the father. Eccentrics, the two of them. Well, if that is what you wish, Hanji will be taking your place. I will go, give me Noir over there."_

_He snorted. "Give you?"_

_"He's property of the government now that Gisbert is dead, he'll be returned accordingly to the King. Obviously Hanji isn't going to let go of that sorrel of hers so there's no point in offering the stallion to her." Abbott bit the pipe between his teeth and offered a hand for the rope._

_Noir snorted and swished its tail, then stopped its hind hoof against the ground as a warning. Levi's face contorted in displeasure. He didn't meant for the words to flow out, but they did out of impulse. "A horse is a reflection of its rider, this is the last bit of Gisbert in this world, I've had many leave my life just like you so, at the very least, let me keep this for my sake."_

'Noir is all I have left of him.'

_"I thought you would say that, Gisbert said you've grown attached to the animal as much as you were to him," the Commander chuckled sadly. "Well, you can keep the horse if you be my Lance Corporal."_

_"...fine."_

'Gisbert, please be glad that I've kept your prize...'

-...-

The clock struck noon. Mikasa finally spoke.

"Eren, come back with me," she told him,"the doctor will take care of him, you need to be elsewhere, somewhere where you'll be safe."

"I'm not leaving him alone here," Eren firmly countered. "Besides, what if our attackers strike out again in the field? It's better to have me here-"

"But were you followed?"

"Not that I know of, what about you?"

Mikasa folded her arms. "Me neither."

"Then we're both in a deadlock...I choose to stay here."

She grimaced and looked out the window for a moment as though she wanted to briefly check on the world. She grew quiet for a long while, her silence telling him she was deliberating her own decision; he gave her the time she needed as he leaned back in his chair.

-...-

- Year 845 - Thirteen Kilometers Outside of Wall Maria - Morning of the Fall of Wall Maria -

"_Hanji, take the bait! Mike, provide Erwin back up! Nanaba, take the flank and keep the center teams clear!"_

_Each of the Majors nodded and sped off either by horses or by Gear. Levi was kept in close quarters of his own team as they pushed forward, racing deeper into the forest. He glanced over his shoulder to see Pierre and Raoul, then their own men following closely behind. None of his men were harmed so far, the rain was bountiful for that day and provided a nice cover for them, or so they thought._

_"Corporal, in front of you!" He heard Pierre shout in alarm._

_When he turned to look ahead, a hand swooped in._

_"Switch to your Gears!" Levi ordered, immediately taking off._

_His men, save for one (though he didn't see who), followed suit just in the nick of time. He aimed for the branches overhead and swirled around the great trunk, gaining momentum until he reached a high branch. He perched upon it and squatted atop in perfect balance; the others flew to either of his side except for the one he didn't see use his Gear._

_"Sir!" Raoul called to him in great alarm._

_He dared to turn his head, the gut feeling of dread that he felt four years ago returned to him. It was happening, he could feel it. Something within him told him to keep looking forward, but he was drawn to see what was behind him._

_"It's Pierre!" An Officer exclaimed._

_Levi didn't take a moment to asses to the situation, he simply leaped off the branch and swung into the fray in which a 15 Meter class and a 10 Meter Deviant had taken to coming into conflict of Pierre._

_The man was skillful with the Gear, his talent was enough to get Levi's eye and, quite embarrassingly, have the Corporal come to him for learning new techniques. He was relieved to see Pierre dancing in between trees, weaving all about his obstacles faster than Noir can possibly do. He expected the man to kill the 15 Meter without complications, but the 10 Meter Deviant, which had come out of his blind spot, overwhelmed him._

_He watched the cables be snagged and pulled by the Deviant class's hand when Pierre's arch had gone too low; it threw Pierre out of momentum and caused him to crash to the forest floor; a deafening thud resounded through the air despite the deluge of water._

_Levi's shout pierced the rainwater. "PIERRE!"_

_His speed escalated quickly, he dashed for the 10 Meter Deviant as it bent over to fetch its prize. Within moments, he zipped over its neck; his blades sliced off a chunk of flesh at the nape of the neck with ease. As his kill began to fall to its knees, Levi swung low to where he saw Pierre crash. The man was on his back, facing up._

_He expected him to get up but that wasn't the case; Pierre laid there, unmoving, his cables still extended and were unable to retract._

_"Corporal!" He cried, hands were suddenly frantic as he began to remove his Gear._

_Levi was at his side within seconds, he was too focused on Pierre to take heed of the 15 Meter class that drew closer by the passing second. He was growing anxious, he didn't like the feeling he was getting from this. "Can you walk?"_

_"I can't stand, Corporal," Pierre said, he managed to undo his equipment; whatever that was left of it laid damaged all around him._

_"Ugh, I told you before, you can call me Levi," he grunted, getting an arm underneath Pierre's back and hefting another under his legs. He managed to carry him properly and looked up to see his team slay the 15 Meter class in perfect coordination. "Your legs, can you walk?"_

_Pierre shook his head. His messy, layered raven locks bounced about in response. The young Major stood about a couple centimeters taller than Levi when he stood, his face was fairly youthful in complexion but his eyes always had a haggard look to them. He had a somewhat arrogant smirk but his mannerisms and respect made up for his dirty appearance._

_"No, sir, I think my spine cracked on impact, I can't feel anything below my waist," he reported sadly. Levi paused for a moment, taking the news in carefully as Pierre went on,"You know how much I love using the Gear...and I said I'd rather die than never use one again."_

_Ah, Pierre was an oddity but his abilities were what made him climb the ranks._

_Levi shook his head and kicked off the ground, keeping Pierre in tow as he retreated into the canopy where not even the tallest Titan could reach him. There, he saw Raoul and the others perching nearby at the lower branches. "I grow tired, sir. Leave me here, a lame horse is no use to a soldier; neither will a lame man do well for an army."_

_"I'm not leaving you," Levi firmly told him, brows furrowing at denying the younger one any sort of leave. He had grown too close to him, just like the others. Pierre's hand went to his cravat to pull at it. "Oi-"_

_"You know what to do...you've been Corporal for about two or three years, I can't be treated differently than any other man or woman here. I'm a soldier, a tool, a broken one at that; you should do what's best, think about it, Levi. I'm just another soldier, I always was and always will be, keep that in your mind," he countered, though his voice wavered. "Put me down, now."_

_Levi reluctantly did so; he sat him against the trunk so that he would have support. His eyes glazed over him as he brought a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear, but Pierre's voice shot through, pleading wearily,"Go, just go, I grow tired!"_

_He didn't protest it. By now, he accepted it; loss was nothing new. He didn't offer a farewell, he didn't reprimand him, and he didn't even discharge him or take his patch._

_He drew his hand back, turned away, and then leaped back into the chaos with his men without looking back. That was the last he saw of Pierre.  
_

_ All within his team perished later on that day.  
_

_ But Levi survived; he was the strongest, just as they said._

_Just as they always expected of him._

'Pierre, I...'

-...-

"I'll stay until the Corporal awakens...when he does so, you're leaving with me," she finally said.

It was a compromise, he could work with it.

Eren nodded. "I'll come back."

* * *

A/N: The description and interactions between Eren and Mikasa reflect the growing detachment between the two, particularly towards Eren's emotions towards her. Depending on the POV of the story, interactions and thoughts of other characters vary from person to person. If Levi thinks less of Mikasa, she will be less mentioned.

*Refers to Levi's dreams. This will be the only time these people will have direct interaction with Levi (except for Gisbert); the degree of each relation he had is heavily implied but not blatantly stated.


	20. Chapter 20

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N:** Sorry about the late update. School has been a mess, ha ha.

OH GOD, WE REACHED TWENTY CHAPTERS~! Thank you for all that have read this far!

* * *

Armin could hardly contain himself.

He rushed his horse into the courtyard and dismounted before he could stop. Feet clattering to the masonry, he leaped off of his horse and allowed it to run loose for the nearest stall to be attended to by Sasha. The young girl was startled by the intrusion but managed to take a hold of the horse as Armin ran by her, asking breathlessly,"Have Ness and Cis returned?"

She struggled to keep his horse in place. "No, not at all, not even last night. Why? Did something happen?"

He avoided that question. "Nanaba...I need to speak to her, where is she?"

Behind him were Ymir and Christa, both equally dismounted in haste, faces urgent with a need to speak as well. Sasha pointed to the double doors of the castle and answered hastily,"Hanji's lab the last time I saw her, we were cleaning the soot this morning!"

He nodded and sprinted with the two girls licking at his heels as their own horses were cared for by the glutton.

He glanced over his shoulder to take a peek at them.

"What's your business with Nanaba?"

"Someone has to know where the Corporal is, along with Eren," she simply said, suddenly keeping up with his pace and then passing him.

True, two of the most important people in the Scouting Legion were absent...and then an entire squad and two other individuals had seemingly disappeared. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. What if Nanaba were to write a report of this as, essentially, all of their superiors were gone? The military gave Eren to the Scouting Legion with delicate requisites; stepping over the borders or having things go out of hand would land Eren back into court.

Eyes started left and right, thoughts for the future swam through his mind as they traversed down the stairs.

An entire squad, Levi's squad, dedicated to protecting and keeping Eren in check is no longer there to do their jobs. Their absence would never help the situation should it be learned of by the government. Erwin was gone but he would still be held accountable and may be charged with negligence.

Ymir noticed him falling back, she halted and turned. "What is it?"

"Say that the Corporal and his team are fine, that they decided to take a break in the village or something," Armin suggested for them, after all, they were the ones tasked to deliver the whereabouts of them. It was a blatant lie. For all he knew, the squad could be dead.

"Lie to a superior?" Christa incredulously asked, eyes wide. "We're not a part of the team itself or have involvements towards Eren, but...someone has to know-"

"I agree," Ymir broke in, nodding ever so slowly,"I'll tell her that."

Why was she agreeing?

_'She has her own agenda...or she's saving her skin.'_

"Better yet, how about we not say anything to Nanaba?" She continued, she strode over to Armin; her taller figure towered over him so easily but he didn't cringe. "Christa and I slipped out last night, unlike you and Mikasa since you guys had to seek permission. You have to report to her anyway."

She had a warm smile that was all too convincing for him though her eyes were uninterested for some reason. Something tugged at his mind; there was more to Ymir than what she was giving him, better yet, she wasn't putting the effort to try and hide it. Christa looked as though she was playing along as the young girl stood by his side, her own face marred with apprehension.

"I'll do it."

Ymir reached to his shoulder and patted him, letting out,"Good boy," and then breezing by him, taking Christa by the hand and leading her away back to the ground floor. When he thought she was gone, her voice rang,"By the way, Armin, isn't it strange? The Commander leaves and all of this happens, so ask yourself; did he do it on purpose?"

A daunting chuckle came from her.

_'Why is she laughing?'_

He couldn't answer her. Was this all by chance as she said earlier in the field or was this all played out according to some twisted being's plan? She was taunting him; it was like she_ wanted_ him to figure it out on his own...but figure what out?

Armin took the initiative and continued on down the stairs, down to the basement of their headquarters. He passed a few Scouts.

Bertolt and Reiner crossed his mind. Both he and Mikasa spent the night looking for them but there was no use. His bones were still cold from that excursion, even as he entered Hanji's laboratory. The place was clean as best as it could be and had a few cabinets that were spared the from the fire, he found Nanaba polishing it with Rene.

"Ma'am?" He asked for her, the blond woman looked over, then turned completely.

"You came back...any luck?"

"No, not at all but we...ran into Levi's squad," he feigned, his voice slightly quivering. She raised a brow. "They decided to stay in the village for a few days to celebrate something."

Nanaba let out a small "hm' as though she were doubting him, but decided to give him a smile. It wasn't expected from her to do so. "That's good to hear they're alright, celebration is in order once in a while, right?" Rene gave a happy nod. "A deserter is a deserter, and if they were caught, they'd be charged accordingly; we don't pursue deserters, really, it's their choice. Hnm...if only Mike didn't leave, it'd be easier to do things; there's only so much I could do. Does Corporal have a message?"

"No, nothing."

"Alright...oh! What about Ness and Cis? They hadn't come-"

Armin decided to feign a laugh. "Well, they decided to join them as well."

"Funny...I guess there's no harm in this, the festive season is coming soon. During this time, we have little to do..." She trailed off for a moment. Armin swore that he could catch the scent of vine upon her breath. "...dismissed, you're dismissed..."

He felt dread course through his veins. "Are you drunk, ma'am?"

"No, hungover is all...the medic ran out of tonic for everyone after the first ones to the infirmary got to it."

-...-

No party came to retrieve Eren for several days.

Mikasa had taken to residing in the doctor's home as well by staying in the room Eren was boarding in.

Every night, they would go to bed in the individual beds.

Every morning, Eren would awaken to keep Levi company.

Doctor Rochester would see to their meals accordingly but, unlike the first day, he rarely spoke and often kept to himself and his patients. It wasn't until the fourth night that Eren and him crossed paths in a hallway that the Doctor finally addressed him.

"Ah, I've been busy, Eren," he apologized in a rather jolly fashion. "It's my fault if I come off cold to you as of late."

"No, it's alright. You're busy," Eren tried to say,"it's understandable. My father was a doctor."

The doctor gave a pat to Eren's shoulder. "Yes, yes, Grisha. We used to work together from time to time when I had a difficult case, I often referred to him when needed. A good man, your father. Come, come, I was about to fetch you. Levi had awaken."

Eren's eyes lit up with anticipation. When they arrived at the Corporal's door, they found hm sitting upright and propped against several pillows. Mikasa was nowhere in sight, though Eren knew she was sleeping. He saw Levi's eyes, no longer red, dart over to him; below that was the usual, purse lip that showed displeasure. A typical look but one much more welcoming than anything.

"Brought him," the old man chimed while giving Eren a gentle nudge.

"Thank you, Doctor," Levi uttered, not making eye contact with either of the two.

Without replying, Rochester immediately left while humming to himself. Eren took to approaching the bed after closing the door; he seated himself at Levi's bedside.

"You look better, sir," Eren tried to say to uplift the man's spirits. There was something off about him.

Indeed there was. Levi suddenly brought his gaze to Eren. He was tired, so dreadfully tired. And when he awoken in a familiar room, a pang of guilt came to him; it was so much that it made his illness numb. His blood coursed through him, cold, despite the fire that roared in front of him.

"I could be, and I ought to, but...that man was Emil's father," Levi murmured. There was no spite, no distaste, but just utter dread. "When I first came here, it was before the festive season; I was ill and needed to be treated. Emil brought me here and I stayed for weeks until I was fit enough to return. Funny that you brought me here, isn't it?"

Eren's mouth was agape for a moment. It passed on for a few seconds before he could actually utter words. "Actually, it was Ymir."

Levi perked up; there was no time to be sentimental. "Ymir?"

"After you collapsed, I was hurt as well trying to bring you to a doctor. I ended up taking a hit; the next thing I knew, I woke up here. She brought me here but she left to go tell headquarters that you're here..."

"Then where is everyone?"

Eren shuffled in his seat. Levi looked about until his eyes fell upon the bedside table; a silver piece caught his attention. He reached out to it to find it to be the saddle plate of Petra's cantle. His mind, suddenly jolting into motion, read Eren's expression all too well. Levi was aware of this, he was even prepared but, with his subjugation to infection, lacked the means to execute his plan.

The letter Erwin had given contained a warning. A warning that the deserting Scouts would strike during their collection of new horses. Erwin would have certainly passed through the village in his way to the Stohess and, with his leaving, correctly guessed that the runaways would attempt to capture Eren. The only thing that made this plan fall to pieces was the damn fever.

He never anticipated that. Not ever.

Erotic Eren won this round. While Eren was still close to him, the devious bastard from the other side took his squad. But then Ymir came to mind.

"Ymir knew something about this," Levi assumed,"else she wouldn't have come and brought us here. She mentioned that she would act on her own accord, our being here is probably a part of it. She knows what Erotic Eren is trying to do." He coughed as he pushed the covers off of his body. "I need to see her soon-"

Eren placed an arm on his shoulder. "You can't just go, you need to rest."

"Eren, there are more pressing matters than just a slight spell of illness," he stubbornly told him. "How many days have I been absent? Erwin placed me in charge, I'm supposed to-"

"I doubt anyone is going to do anything drastic," he tried to reason, but Eren knew too well that it could be quite the opposite.

"But the missing Scouts, Eren. Think, there is an entire squad missing. Hadn't anyone caught on to that? Why aren't there reinforcements? Isn't anyone going to bother looking for me...for you?" Levi rolled his eyes as he brought his legs over the edge of the bed; he shook his head. "I feel like Ymir is pulling off shit behind our backs. Either she didn't tell anyone of anything or she lied."

He brushed away Eren's arm and staggered to the clothes line. He reached for his dried clothes and slacks, then hauled them on to his body with Eren watching him wordlessly. Once he managed to get himself dressed, he reached into his pockets and, much to his relief, found the silver whistle. He was thankful he pocketed the whistle before leaving; why he had done it, he had no idea.

The linked chain was brought around his neck and tucked under his cravat.

"Let's go," he said,"and fetch that name plate off the stand, we'll have to send something home if she's gone."

"Yes, sir."

-...-

They left to find the doctor busying himself in the lobby; he was working on paperwork at his desk. Mikasa sat in one of the sofas by the fire place with a newspaper article at hand; the moment the two men presented themselves, she dropped it and stood up.

"He's up?"

Rochester sat up straighter and adjusted the reading glasses atop his nose. "Goodness, recovering quickly I see? You did break through your fever, so...I suppose I could release you." He fumbled about his desk until he produced a flask that was full, he reached it towards Eren as he was the closest. "His infection just needs to be cared for with medicine. This in an antibiotic, take it before bed and when you awaken, then you should be fine."

"I'll send money to cover the costs," Levi told him.

"No, no, it's quite alright...I have enough coming from Emil's gains."

Mikasa was about to speak up but Eren, with the flask at hand, stepped to her and gave her a look to be quiet.

"Hm, if you're content with it, then so be it," he murmured, he started heading for the door but the sound of a chair scooting back against the wooden floor caught his attention.

"Levi, wait."

"Yes?"

"...it wasn't your fault."

Those four words, he remembered hearing them a decade before. His mind relapsed to when he returned from that day to deliver the message himself of Emil's death. Wracked by guilt, he never came into contact with Rochester for years, not until now. Even here, as he stood in the same home that had given him kindness, he felt an unwelcoming presence telling him to leave.

That presence was himself.

It wasn't his fault? He was there, he could have volunteered to be part of the patrol with Emil, but the man didn't let him. His eyes glued themselves to the door; he had to leave. He couldn't bear to stand within Rochester's presence.

"After all these years, you still blame yourself," Rochester sighed. "You were just a kid back then, surely now, as Lance Corporal, you'd accept that he was just a soldier."

"How can you say that about your own son?" His voice rose in offense.

"I accepted what happened and learned to live on. Not like you, it seems."

He wasn't going to listen to it. He stormed for the door and threw it open, he then slammed it closed. The cold air of the nearing winter kissed his exposed skin, prompting him to cover his head with the furs. He stepped down the porch and looked about to find that Noir was nowhere in sight; instead, he was greeted by the darkness of the streets. From where he stood, the outline of a lone horse stood at the tie down by the barn, surely it was Mikasa's.

As he pushed away thoughts of Emil and his father, the door creaked open to reveal Eren and Mikasa. At the sight of them, he asked,"Where is my horse?"

"He went off," Eren reported, though he didn't face him.

"He's very valuable to me," Levi huffed as he reached under his cravat for the silver whistle. He brought the cool metal to his lips and blew a low pitch, then followed it up with a higher one. Among the streets the call echoed and went on for several times until a distinct set of hoof-beats came resounding back in return.

He stowed away the whistle as Noir brought himself into their sights. Trailing him was the white mare that Eren had newly acquired. Both horses brayed and ceased before them, their barrels puffing with snorts emitting steam.

"Check your horse, she may have been wandering with Noir and gotten injured," Levi instructed as he inspected Noir himself. As far as he could see, there was nothing wrong with him. The same went for Blanche.

"They probably fled back to town after you lost them," Mikasa surmised as their summons was rather quick. She went to fetch her bay from the stables as Levi made a motion for Eren to come near.

The boy approached him with Blanche's reins at hand. How they kept their equipment on for three days was a mystery, but both were grateful that they did. His rifle was still stowed in the sheathe.

His mind tried to push out thoughts of Emil as Eren came into reach.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he replied hastily, shaking his head.

He mounted Noir without difficulty, then took the reins into his hands. Mikasa came to his side atop her own horse, her silence much more welcoming than the doctor's home. Eren hefted himself onto Blanche and allowed her to walk in a few circles to test her compliance to pressure.

While doing so, Levi began"I don't want a repeat of before...we'll split into three. It'll be dangerous but if there are only two assailants, they would only have two thirds of a chance catching us rather than Eren."

"Wait, you have Noir," Mikasa pointed out,"we all know who he is, why not give him to Eren? They'll most likely chase after a white horse than a black one in the darkness as well."

Levi stared at her with those expressionless eyes, then sighed. "You're quite right."

Without question, the two exchanged horses; he took his rifle's holster from Noir's saddle and transferred it to Blanche's.

Their routes were determined by the torchlight as Mikasa provided them one of Gunther's maps; the man kept several charts within his quarters for personal preference, she may have stolen it for whatever reason she had. Now wasn't the time to reprimand her; he had to return soon to gather up forces.

The news of his squad going missing more than enough to set off a single alarm. His anxiety was pushed aside, he had something to do about it and he wouldn't let them leave this world all too easily.

His hands clenched Blanche's reins as he led the two teenagers down the streets. He, alone, would be taking a wooded path when he entered the outskirts; Mikasa would take the route parallel to his by a few kilometers; Eren was designated to the center road where the incident of several nights occurred. The street led them to a crossroad where their paths would split; upon that place, their hoods were lifted to cover their faces from the frosty air.

As much as it was directed to Eren, he called out,"Both of you," and caused the two to turn their horses,"you have only one order. Don't die."

"Yes, sir," they said in unison before tongues clucked and the ends of their reins snapped against their horse's shoulders.

Levi kept Blanche in place as he saw them off. Their horses blurred into the shadows until only the soft sounds of hoof beats pounded the soft earth, leaving Levi to the snorts and groans of the mare that anxiously pawed. He brought a hand to her crest, muttered,"Easy, girl," and then led her down the empty path for the woods.

-...-

It was like that night again.

No animal stirred in the thicket as he guided Blanche through the bushes and shrubs.

Peace and silence. Two things he dreaded to hear when he was no longer in the safety of a friend. His hands clung to the reins as he gently coaxed Blanche over a fallen tree trunk. He could hear his ragged breath over the clunks of steel hooves, he sniffled and wiped his nose as he went on through the darkness; his back was only kissed by the rays of the moon when they broke through the canopy overhead.

He looked about but minded to keep his hood in place.

Consciously, his hand went to his cravat so that he could feel the whistle.

He could remember the voices of them. Those that left before. He would shut them out so that he could focus on the living but there were times in which he would let one or two in; his dreams, they replayed in his mind whenever he fell ill.

_'I accepted it,'_ he told himself often_,'I accepted them all leaving. Yet...I feel a tinge of guilt-'_

A twig snapped elsewhere. He ceased Blanche and listened for more movement. Woe be told, a set of hooves came beating close; it was quickly drawing in from behind. He turned his head and, at the sight of a silver barrel, ducked in time before a shot rang. Heels digging into Blanche, he urged the mare to break into a gallop.

Her cries at the sound of gunfire pierced the air; it made his heart leap but his mind drew itself back to the situation. He stood in the stirrups and leaned into his seat to balance his weight better atop the horse. He did so much as dare glance back to find the his pursuer was coming closer by the second. The path in the woods opened for enough space to fit three horses.

The assailant, garbed in a winter cloak that covered his larger stature atop a chestnut horse, drew to his right.

He as too close for comfort. Levi's hand dove for the loaded rifle and aimed it directly at the rider; his finger pulled the trigger but all either of them could hear was an audible _click!_. In opposition, the rifle from the pursuer was targeting Levi.

_'Shit, the powder may have been wet from the rain!'_

His heart slammed in his chest. It had been a while since he tasted this fear. He had no other weapon at hand, no other option, and only one direction to go; forward. He didn't want to give in, not like this, not as some coward running...

The path merged onto a river that broke the forest in half; the storm from a few days before had caused it to overflow and rage with such ferocity that one of the wooden bridges that was used to cross it had been broken. Without a second thought, he brought Blanche to the broken bridge and kicked at her harder than ever. He was lighter in weight and, as he gambled, would have a better chance of leaping over it.

With his body pressed closely to the mane, he propped himself accordingly and soared with the mare as she cleared the gap. Her hooves clamored onto the other side as he turned her head so that he would face the pursuer. In honesty, he thought he wouldn't make it.

The cloaked rider stood at the other side, his horse unmoving. He trotted left and right, then went down a path behind the broken bridge. Soon after, he bolted, his horse's hooves flying underneath him as he made an attempt to jump, but he fell short. Levi watched the horse's forelegs slam against the rickety edge of the bridge until it snapped under the weight.

One moment, the rider was there.

The next, he wasn't.

The violent churning of the water was hardly enough to muffle the shouts of the rider and the desperate cries of the horse as they were swept away.

Levi wasn't in favor of chasing after him; the noise they would make would call in more. He couldn't face another ambush alone and unarmed. He watched the heads and hands of the horse and rider bob uneasily midst the waters, they were still crying for help.

Blanche anxiously pawed the earth. She was in need of returning home, as was he.

He retreated into the woods and continued on.

-...-

Mikasa had arrived first.

He could recognize her horse as it was tied. When he dismounted Blanche, it was Ymir who greeted him first, saying almost cynically,"I thought you wouldn't make it."

"What?" Levi asked, though his voice was challenging her to make a snide remark once more.

She was leaning against some crates, hands folded over her chest as she gestured with her eyes to the door. "Mikasa returned wounded, she took a bullet to the shoulder but they're patching her up right now."

His teeth clenched and he faced the entrance of the courtyard. The news of hearing Mikasa harmed on the journey home brought a sense of dread; Eren was still out there, exposed and unprepared. His hand went to his whistle. If he rang it, would Noir return once more with a bloody saddle and no rider? He shook his head and went back to Blanche; he mounted her and took up the reins.

"Go fetch Nanaba," he instructed her calmly.

She didn't say a word but she wandered away.

He waited for a moment in apprehension.

Nanaba came by a few minutes later with Ymir and an unnamed man at her side. "Corporal," she addressed him,"where are Petra and the others?"

She was curiously looking about.

"Missing, I want you to gather your men and head down the main road-"

"What? Missing? Since when?" The unnamed soldier that came along ran off to the main doors and disappeared.

"Since we left to get the horses."

She was quiet for a moment, then her eyes grew wide as though she hit a realization. "What? We were told you stayed in the village to celebrate."

Levi grimaced and traced his gaze to Ymir; the young woman looked up at him with a glare as though testing him to do anything. However, from what Eren could tell him, she was the one responsible to relay a message to the Scouting Legion of his absence. She had lied and, by all means, he could reprimand her for that.

Ymir's expression, once relaxed, suddenly contorted in shock at the realization of what Levi concluded. She attempted to protest,"Hold on, wait-"

Violating his deal with her as men came pouring in from the main doors, he pointed to her and announced,"Clap irons to her wrists. She's a danger to us all."

"Hey! We had a deal!"

As she was restrained, she struggled against several Officers. With her rank being a recruit, the veterans had little to question about her fidelity; they were following Levi's word. She shouted,"I'm trying to help you, you fool!" though her voice was laced with venom. He sat atop Blanche, watching her attempt to fight back. "I've been trying to help!"

"You said you were in it for yourself, to save your skin."

"Yeah, but I need you to be alive!" She spat with a snarl. "Doing this, you're damning yourself even worse!"

Before he could raise his voice, a shout came from the courtyard,"He's here!"

Levi turned his head to see Noir cantering towards him. From the darkness, he could hardly make identity of the rider but, the closer he came, the more relieved Levi found himself to be. There was no bloody saddle and no missing rider. He had no need to grab a hold of Noir's reins, Eren was alive and still riding. To prove it all, the boy lowered his hood to reveal a confused face at the seen.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Levi let out a relieved sigh, then he turned to face the group that held Ymir by her arms. "Infidelity, that's what. Take her to the basement, lock her in one of the rooms. I'll deal with her when the Commander returns."


	21. Chapter 21

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

**A/N: **Apologies for the late update, QAQ

School has literally swamped me...I try to write as often as I could so here~!

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"...I was planning to assign Mikasa to help keep you in check and protected, but as she's out of commission I want you to stay by me at all times," Levi began as they headed down the corridor; his hand was busy stowing away the flash Eren had given him upon his return- it was some sort of concoction Rochester had instructed Levi to take. Surely it would take affect soon, the man just took several sips of it.

Ymir was taken, as he ordered, to the basement; fortunately, in the dead of night, her taking went unnoticed by the younger recruits as they had turned in early.

"It'll be difficult to muster the men that have the skills my squad had."

He had sent Nanaba and her team to search for the missing Scouts. In addition, he demanded the capture of the lone rider he encountered with Blanche. Within the hour, he had two dozen soldiers (some of which who Nanaba had to scour the castle for sobriety) flee into the night, each of them following his instructions to the best of their abilities.

Some of the search party members consisted of a recruit or two that were awoken for a lack of men at hand; they were Sasha and Jean.

With his own team gone, he was left to watch over Eren.

The fever he had barely broken through affected him for just a spell, he felt cold, even as he wore the furs of his winter cloak. Aching thoughts of a warm room and fire coursed through his mind, the luxuries of which Erotic Eren would have killed to obtain made Levi smile inwardly as Eren himself walked by his side. Breathing heavily, he brought a key out and shoved it through the keyhole of his door.

"When you go in, make yourself comfortable. Build a fire while you're at it," he grunted as he pushed the door open,"you're to stay with me for tonight."

Eren's hand went to his shoulder. "Sir, you're shivering."

"I'll be fine once you light the damn room," he pressed on as brushed off his hand and then lit a candle for light; he placed the flask of medicine on some random shelf. With the door closing behind him, Eren went to the fireplace and proceeded to lay out the fresh tinder. Hands grasping at his furs, Levi undid his cloak and let it hung upon a coat rack by his door, beside it was his jacket.

The clothes he wore were washed but he could feel the filth of them upon his body. Without a second though, he went to his wardrobe and took a pair of fresh sleeves and slacks; he quickly changed as Eren's back was to him, though he was sure that the boy wouldn't have the audacity to stare at him anyway. With the old clothes tossed to the hamper, he went to his bathroom was adjusting his button-up.

The fresh gauze upon his neck was still there, a painful reminder of what transpired the last time he was in the room with the boy. His hand consciously went to pad against it.

The bottle of liquor that he used as a crude sterilizer was still siting at the windowsill over his bath. He regretted not being properly treated beforehand, but there were certain things others should not know of. Well, Hanji knew, as did Eren, but as he was progressively healing he saw no use in telling anyone else of it. It was for the best anyway.

"It's lit," Eren's voice came in, it was followed by the sound of a roaring fire when Levi entered the room.

The boy had taken off his own furs and coat, they hung by Levi's near the door. A sofa had been scooted before the fire so that the heat radiating from it would leave any occupant bathed in warmth. Levi took a seat by the fire, in turn Eren had the consideration to bring him one of the blankets upon the bed.

Sitting against the backrest and leaning against the armrest, Levi made a lazy gesture. "Sit by me, I told you to make yourself comfortable."

He shuddered when a rush of coldness ran through his blood. Eren gave a slight smile as though he were grateful and took his place accordingly by Levi. The older man offered the blanket to be shared and, quite hesitantly, Eren accepted it and found himself leaning against the backrest. Once they arranged themselves accordingly, they sat in silence.

Could it have been an hour? Maybe. It felt like it but it could have been several minutes.

He hadn't told Eren of Mikasa's injury.

"I'm glad the two of you returned alive," he said.

"You gave me an order to stay alive, I followed it," Eren replied, trying to lighten the mood. He was surprisingly calm and, as he sat beside him, he wasn't the usual bumbling kid who stammered the speak. There couldn't have been a change within the course of his illness but there was, at least, that was what it felt like to him.

"No one followed you?"

"I heard gunshots, other than that, nothing happened. You're not hurt, are you?"

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm glad then."

Levi bit at his bottom lip for a second and inhaled deeply. Releasing a long sigh, he was glad himself that Eren came back alive. Part of him expected Noir to bring back a bloodied saddle, just as the stallion had done with-

'Let that go, he's here in front of you.'

"Eren," he muttered, it drew the boy's eyes to him,"tell me that you're alive."

The boy gave him a perplexed look, then slowly echoed to,"I'm alive, sir."

For once, the end of Levi's lips curved upwards just slightly; it was like he needed to hear those words. The weight he felt upon his shoulders had lessen and the pressure he had grown familiar with was replaced with a foreign feeling of relief. A relief he had no idea that he desired to hear. But...

...he needed more confirmation.

His illness was bearable now as the medicine had taken affect upon his body. The aches of the night's journey lessened as the fire began to ebb away the soreness. Another fire sparking within him, one that he thought had been doused long ago, began to flicker.

_'I swear, Rochester makes the most dubious medication.'_

"Eren, come here," he instructed softly. He hadn't spoken this quiet since...ah, who was it?

The cushions shifted as Eren drew close, but Levi had taken a grasp at his arm and pulled him in; his grip slackened when Eren firmly stood in place. He asked,"Are you cold?"

Reluctantly, Levi nodded. "Very."

Instead, Levi found himself being hauled forth, then turned to have his back facing Eren's front. As they shifted around, he heard Eren chuckle. What was he laughing about? He was settled between Eren's legs with the boys arms around his torso; he could feel the heat resonating from his torso and chest. The sudden contact, such a close one at that, made him warm.

Perhaps his mind was playing tricks? No, just being here with the boy gave him a firm grasp of reality. His breathes became deep, he leaned his head against Eren's chest and curled his legs in; it was a comforting position he hadn't felt since childhood.

"My mother used to hold me like this," he commented with a longing sigh.

He felt Eren's chest heave a bit in a soft laugh. "Mine did as well."

"Why're you laughing?"

"As I was coming in, you looked worried, scared. I never thought you'd ever show that but it was there, just barely peeking out there though. You didn't calm down until I came, am I right?"

Levi scoffed. The only other person who could read him well was Hanji, it impressed him that Eren was able to pick up on the smaller things. Perhaps spending the time to learn more of each other was well worth the days...

The crackling flames popped and resounded in his mind, he turned his head and, quite amazingly, began to listen to Eren's heartbeat. For some reason, he could hear it pick up the pace. "Calm down, you're just holding me," he said, wanting to see how Eren would react. The beats grew rapid so he warned gently,"Eren..."

"Sorry, sir," he heard Eren murmur.

He could see Eren's face but, if he were, he would surely be flushed around the cheeks. Would it have been the concoction he had taken? Could it have been a dying need to know even further Eren was here and alive? He didn't know, he couldn't place it together. Maybe it was the need to forget the pain of loss, maybe he just wanted to forget who he was just for a moment.

He didn't need to figure out that the boy held an affection towards him; he could read him as well as the boy had learned to do so towards him.

"Eren, look at the fire," he uttered.

Eren's body moved behind his back.

Levi turned himself to face the boy.

"...I want you to stare at that fire, don't look at me," he quietly ordered as the boy draped himself over the armrest and backrest. Those legs that were parted for him when he was sitting seemed to be an invitation of sorts. He felt his own heart skip a beat when the firelight revealed his flawless neck; it was young and not muscular but there was a defined piece of flesh underneath the skin.

He leaned forth with one hand grasping the armrest and the other upon the frame of the sofa for support. Lips parting, he allowed a tongue to snake out to have a taste of him. Eren took in a sharp gasp at the pudgy muscle touching him and so, he faced Levi; in turn, Levi brought his hand to his chin and turned his head to face the fire.

"Don't look."

Something stirred within him when the boy kept his head in place.

Levi shifted back and pulled at his waist, causing Eren to slide down so that his head rested against a cushion. Hands traveling to the hem of his slacks, Eren lifted his hips up so that they would slide off after the buttons and zip were undone. Anxiety suddenly took course when Eren's hand reached to his and prevented him from going any further.

"Sir, you're not well," he told him as he disobeyed orders.

Eyes began to grow heavy while he felt both of Eren's gently ease off of him and, upon feeling an uncharacteristic sense of disparage, watched the boy redo his slacks. He then offered him open arms. There wasn't room for argument and, strangely enough Levi felt guilty for even attempting to pressure Eren. He figured that he didn't need such intimacy to confirm one fact.

"Tell me that you're alive and here," he murmured as he drew close to Eren. This time, he laid on his front so that he would face him.

Eren ran his hand through his hair to aimlessly push away a tuft of hair. "I'm here, I'm alive."

Levi reached towards his mouth to brush the pad of his thumb over his lips. With a relieved sigh, he murmured,"I can see your face, I can hear your voice...forgive me."

"Just go to sleep, sir," he said, hand going behind his head and bringing him down to rest his cheek against his chest.

-...-

Morning broke through the window as the smoldering fire died.

A knock woke him.

"Levi?"

Another knock.

It was Erwin. He returned already?

Levi stirred from his position but found himself to be held in the embrace of another. He looked up to see Eren resting his head against a pillow from the bed; he may have brought it during the night when Levi was in his deepest sleep. He squirmed a bit and managed to unlace Eren's hold around his body.

The warmth of another body was comforting, his chest swelled with some emotion he thought he had long cast away. He would deal with that later; he got up carefully so that he wouldn't awaken the boy. Yawning, he headed for the door and cracked it open with his eyes still heavy.

"You're back," he murmured groggily, throat hoarse.

"Where's Eren?" Erwin asked, though his eyes traveled over Levi to see Eren's hair peeking from the sofa's edge. "Wake him up, Ymir wants to see him before she talks to us."

Levi turned away and went to the couch, he reached down and shook Eren by his shoulder while saying,"Is it about Ymir? I had her clapped in irons last night- Eren, get up." Eren groaned softly and sat up slowly, Levi parted from him and headed for the door. "She lied about my whereabouts to Nanaba, didn't send a team to get me; what's worse is that she lied about-"

"It was Armin, we have him under arrest as well after Nanaba told me who lied," Erwin explained as he turned away.

"Armin's arrested? What'd he do!?" Eren exclaimed in worry as both he and Levi slipped on their boots to wear something. Levi held up a hand to signal him to become silent.

"Deceived a superior and refused to give Levi's whereabouts; he's still going to reprimanded whether or not he's involved in any of the recent happenings," he curtly told him,"however, Ymir seems to be the one behind it since Armin keeps speaking of her. I trust your judgement of apprehending her, Levi."

Once the boots were set, they followed him closely.

"It's not judgement," Levi murmured, he then raised his voice,"how's Hanji?"

"With her mother, of course, she's doing well (though it's rather difficult to define "well" about the mother). Moblit is with her so I doubt she'll be getting hurt any time soon; I have worries for the man though," he mused. Upon entering the main hallway, they turned for the basement stairs where a crowd of recruits were standing about, some were in their nightgowns or slacks.

Nanaba was keeping them at bay by standing at the entrance.

They easily passed them all with Levi not giving so much as a glance to Christa when he spotted her amongst the crowd. He continued on for his descent as he spoke aloud,"When did you return?"

"An hour ago," Erwin replied. "Had to take a longer route for the other bridge since one of them had apparently gave out. Met a few of the men outside, all of them saying they're searching for the deserting recruits; I take it that my leave was all for nothing since they're still on the hunt."

"What were you thinking?" Levi huffed.

"I thought it would bring us closer to the two recruits seeing that the Commander leaves and makes the soldiers seem vulnerable. Look at what you did, at least revealed someone's infidelity-"

"Yes, and at the cost of it was my squad and two others. Nearly myself and Eren if you count us," he sharply told him, glaring up at him as they quickly strode down the corridor. "Look at this, two recruits arrested and six missing; you gambled poorly for whatever you were doing."

"It was but at least there was some gain, you had Ymir arrested if she has what we need."

"In truth, she does, and I would have worked on my own to get it out of her if she hadn't decided to do what she did." He grunted and murmured to himself,"What was she thinking? What's everyone thinking?" He shook his head and glanced at Eren.

The warming vibe the boy emitted that morning had dissipated; he was obviously distressed and grew even more so as he fiddled with his sleeves at his sides. Eren's shifting eyes and constant peeking into rooms they went by was enough to indicate that he was, as expected, worried. Levi could have offered a reassuring arm, even he himself was surprised that Armin was arrested.

"Before we go to Ymir, I want Eren to see Armin," Levi spoke out.

"They're in the same area, he'll see him perfectly well," Erwin explained.

They went on for a while until they reached the jails at the furthest depths of the basement. It was a hallway with cells that were carved into the walls and closed off by iron bars. Torches lined every supporting pillar by the bars, thus illuminating a dark part of the castle. Mike sat upon one of the chairs with Gerger sitting in another; both men were conversing quietly until the three of them approached.

Chains clattered when the occupants of the cells heard voices resound off the stones.

"Cadet Ymir, we brought him," Erwin said as he drew close towards Mike; the taller man stood up in attention.

"I want to speak to the Corporal, actually," Ymir's voice dryly demanded.

Levi looked over to where her voice came from, he watched her bring herself to her bare feet while emerging from the shadows. She had cuffs around her wrists and ankles, the chains that were linked together spanned from her to the wall where he could see them bolted in securely. She wore only simple slacks and a gray tunic, from what he could remember, those were her typical clothes.

He looked about for Armin and found the blond boy in a similar situation, it was only that he was parallel of Ymir.

Eren was ready to bolt for Armin's doors to check on his friend, Levi gave him a curt nod of consent. The boy rushed over to him while Levi took to standing a safe distance away from Ymir.

Chains clinked as she pressed against the bars. The first words that came from her were too predictable. "We had a deal."

"Yes, we had, until you broke the contract by deceiving Nanaba. I'd like to know how because that trick landed Armin in here in front of you."

She spat at his feet, though her saliva missed his boots. In disgust, she said,"I had my worries that Nanaba, or any other person, would file in a report for the MP to start an investigation. Scouts going missing and maybe turning up dead while the superiors are either absent or incapacitated? We may as well scream that you can't control Eren; he'll be taken into custody from all the neglect. I was trying to help you, fool."

"It didn't sound like it last night," he murmured.

"Well, listen here, he's of more value than you think. Having him executed isn't going to do well for you, humanity, and, most especially, me. People like Reiner and Bertolt have been searching for him for ages-"

"Oh? So you do have knowledge of them."

"Of course I do, that other Eren told me; plus,I never liked them anyway. Now that I have you interested in what I know, why don't you let me out? Let Armin out too, he's not responsible for anything, besides, I think the kid pissed himself," she chuckled, but then Levi brought a hand to the bar closest to where he rested her head against. Her eyes grew wide but she didn't flinch as he neared her. "What?"

"There's no way in Hell that I'd ever let you leave this fucking cell, I'm not going to play this game of bargaining. I have the upper-hand here, you're stuck behind some bars and you're even chained like a dog. Since you're a bitch, I'm expecting you to bark out everything soon so that I can remove your collar. Who knows, maybe I could have Erwin pardon you altogether if you do well."

Ymir shook her head and sighed,"It's not me that has violated anything, at least in the eyes of the military. Armin lied to a superior, he's guilty for that at the very least; he could technically be responsible for missing any chances of saving your squad if they're still alive. On the other hand, I'm just here under suspicion."

"Regardless, they'll take my word for it. You'll stay here until you tell me what I truly need to know."

She rolled her eyes and groaned softly. "I shouldn't have to result to this...in all honesty, I'm not a soldier myself, and I never was. I'm not a warrior either, and I'm definitely glad I never could be." Her lips became purse and a sharp whistle came from them, thus catching everyone's ears and eyes. "Eren...**ya ne to, chto ya**."

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A/N: If anyone wants to help with this fan fiction, if you know Russian, please speak out. The language spoken by Ymir is not supposed to be Russian specifically (it's just a label) but, for just authenticity, I'd love to have a translator.


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